Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God
by Fenikkusumaru
Summary: A week has passed since the defeat of Orpheus, but before the Phi Brain can graduate, a new evil arises as they seek the Score of Hysteria composed by Beethoven himself. With the help of two new friends, Hikari, with the title of Beethoven, and Kurogasa, with the title of Morse and Faiz, can they able to stop this new evil before the whole world listens to Beethoven's Mad Melody?
1. Wasn't It Supposed To End?

**StarlightAT:** HELLOOOOOO, ZAWANE CITY!

**Fenikkusumaru:** Wrong TV show… –_–;

**StarlightAT:** I know I just wanted to say it for once! ^_^

**Fenikkusumaru:** Alright, alright. Anyways, what's up people?! It's your buddy Fenikkusumaru here bringing you another story, but this time it's a Phi Brain and Kamen Rider Faiz crossover story and I'm partnering up with StarlightAT on this one!

**StarlightAT:** Expect to see some crazy action, some puzzles that take forever to create and solve, and of course the usual romance and friendship bonding! We hope you enjoy the coming story!

**Fenikkusumaru:** Now on with… wait a minute, we haven't named this story. What should we name it?

**StarlightAT:** Hmm… how about… Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God?

**Fenikkusumaru:** I like it! Now then on with the first chapter of Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God!

**Both:** Pazaru Taimu no… hajimari da!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Faiz. All creative rights go to Shotaro Ishinomori. Any and all music used for this story, are not mine either. I also do not own Phi Brain. All creative rights go to Junichi Sato, Mayori Sekijima, and Yoshiki Togawa.

* * *

The clock struck midnight. The bells of Notre Dame rang throughout the city of Paris. Even when the lights of the Eiffel Tower lit the town, there was darkness to it. Not an honest soul was out this late at night. Rats scurried in the alleyway, being chased by a black cat. Then the cat froze. Someone was walking nearby. A figure walked through the streets, turning into the alleyway where the cat was. A white haired young man stopped in front of it. A smile appeared on his face.

The figure was a tall male. Pure white hair in the form of a spiky afro smiled down at the cat. Part of his hair covered his eye, yet his left blue eye had a tint of kindness in it. A brown trench coat fluttered as the wind picked up, revealing brown trousers, a white buttoned shirt, and black shoes that moved once more, walking around the cat.

There was a reason this particular male was out so late at night. Despite seeing a rather lovely animal, his gaze hardened as he came across his destination.

A small, rundown church with broken windows and half of a cross stood tall, despite the harshness of the world towards it. Even now it remained firm and unyielding.

"To think… it was here this entire time…The most dangerous melody…" The male whispered. His hand grasped the doors of the church. "I must not let them get their hands on it. The world will plunge into darkness and despair, should this melody ever be played."

Opening the doors, the man was introduced to the site of broken benches, walls that threated to collapse, and a statue of the Messiah in shambles. What caught the male's eyes however, was the altar. Compared to everything here, that object was the one thing that was perfectly fine. It was clean.

"That's strange… The altar looks to be in perfect condition… Why is that?" The male wondered. He walked up to the altar, his eyes gazing at everything around him. Indeed, the altar was the only item in this place that was left untouched by nature. Stopping before it, his right hand caressed the smooth exterior. "…The first puzzle…" The male traveled around the altar. He took in every detail, the type of stone, limestone, the detailed pictures on the side, the one impaled on the cross, and the cloth used, fine red silk. Then he felt it, a stone out of place.

He pressed on it.

*CLICK*

A soft rumbling, similar to thunder in storm clouds echoed through the unstable church. The altar shook, causing the young man to back away. After a few seconds, the altar moved. After that few seconds, the rumbling stopped and the altar had moved to side revealing an underground staircase. The male narrowed his eyes. This was the place the POG spoke of. The male dug his hand through his coat pocket, pulling out a lighter. Flicking it on, he descended into the darkness.

The stairs felt endless. He had no clue how long he was walking. It was like walking down a flight of stairs that led to the Abyss.

After what seemed like forever, he reached the bottom of the stairs and his destination. "This must be it…" A doorway stood between him and his objective. Normally, one would open the door and possibly find the treasure past it. But this man knew better than that. Once he passed through that door, his life would be at stake. He knew this, and yet his hand fell onto the door.

A smile appeared on his face, not of irony, disappointment or a smile of fear, but one of pure confidence, as if he knew he would be alright.

The doors were pushed opened.

The room was large, and yet the architecture was reminiscent of a Gothic design from the Renaissance. Pillars lined the room that lead to an altar. Torches lit up one by one, lightning up the darkness, revealing the room in its full glory. The male traveled forward, on guard and ready to do what was necessary. The altar was ten meters in front of him, something sitting on it. Hopefully, it's the reason for his visit.

"There's no turning back now…" The male said to himself. "I'm going to make sure that the melody will never be played. Watch over me… Kaito…"

* * *

**(Cue Theme Chu–Bura by Kelun)**

**(Instrumental) **At the start of the music, many forms of puzzle pieces fly up in the air, hovering in the air for a few seconds before the pieces suddenly came together to form cameo shots of Kaito, Nonoha, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, Kurogasa, and Hikari with their title names in the background. The puzzle pieces then scatter again to show a blue sky before the title Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God appears before it fades away and the camera suddenly moves down to show Root Academy.

**(O~naji~ dorama wo nandamo miteru)** Kaito, Gammon, and Kurogasa walk up the hill towards the school, with Gammon driving on his bike after them.  
**(Kyou~ mo naa~, sonna ki ga shiteta zutto)** Gammon speeds past them, making Kaito spin around a bit before the latter gets angry and chases after him, making Nonoha sweat drop while Kurogasa smiled with amusement.  
**(Ki~mi ga~ waratte kureta shunkan ni)** Ana sat on a nearby bench at the entrance of the school painting as Cubic drove next to him on his robot, waiting for the others to arrive.  
**(A~tara~shii sutori ga hajimatta) **The scene then changes to Souji and Baron who looked outside the window as they talked before Baron turns around to his desk looking at a file showing a picture of Hikari.

**(Chuburarin na aseta hibi ga) **The score pieces of Beethoven's Mad Melody fly into the palms of Kaiser and the Chords of Death. A silhouette of the Orpheus Armlet shines within the pieces.  
**(Iruzuiteiku no ga waka~ttan da)** The camera then pans forward fast as if going through a space warp into the Orpheus Armlet silhouette until it slowly stops to Hikari in a black void, specifically to her eyes and opens them, revealing that her eyes were shining golden.

**(Saa~, ma~bu~ta o a~ke~te) **The Phi Brain children, Nonoha and Kurogasa stand across a large chessboard, the other side holding Kaiser and the Chords of Death, each wearing an Orpheus Armlet.  
**(Kodoku ni surigaeteta) **The scene switches to Freecell and the Orpheus Order, rushing up a flight of stairs, with those of the POG in an office typing on laptops. A shadow of a captured Rook spurs them on.  
**(Na~ku~shi~te~ta yuu~ki~ wo)** Kurogasa and Nonoha stand back to back. When Kurogasa turns around, Nonoha disappears, replacing her with Kaiser as he held out his hand. Kurogasa's eyes narrowed, activating the Faiz belt and transforms into Kamen Rider Faiz before charging at him and jumping up, flipping forward to do his Rider Kick.  
**(Kono te ni kakegeyo)** Kaito runs towards Hikari playing the piano, only for the image to shatter, forcing him into a maze puzzle. After recovering from the shock, his right eye reflects the universe within himself.

**(Ko~ra~e~te~tta na~mi~da)** The camera hovers overheard showing all the cloaked members of the Chords of Death including Kaiser going face–to–face against Kaito, Kurogasa, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, and Hikari as they were in a Puzzle of God that involves all of them.  
**(Ima omoidashita kara) **The ghost of Jin materializes and Raëtsel, Elena, Souji, and Baron appear one by one as the POG symbol illuminates behind them, ready to support the Phi Brain children before the score pieces, burst into flames to change to another scene.

**(Ki~mi~ no~ te~ wo ni~gi~tte) **In the rain, Kurogasa sits with his back to a wall curled up looking down sadly before a hand extends to Kurogasa making him look up to see Nonoha in front of him, smiling. Kurogasa smiles back before taking Nonoha's hand and at that point, the sun comes out and the rains stops.  
**(Monogatari wa hajimaru) **Kaito, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, and Hikari all run up to him, each smiling as they prepare to confront their new Friend.

* * *

Chapter 1: Wasn't It Suppposed to End?

It was another beautiful day at Root Academy. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the students were happily talking with each other as they walked over to campus. It was a perfect day. Nothing could ruin it.

That is until a victorious laugh rang throughout the compound of the cafeteria. Standing tall and proud was a tall, redheaded male with gray eyes, always seen with his black leather jacket and pants, giving him a delinquent appearance along with his hairstyle and his way of talking. This was Gammon "Galileo" Sakanoue, "AHAHAHAHAHAAAA! Finally, finally after all these years, I _finally_ got back at you Kaito Daimon!"

"Kono yarooooooo…" The said person growled. This was Kaito "Einstein" Daimon. He was a teen who has messy black hair that's partly tied into a short ponytail and has dark brown eyes. He was wearing his sunglasses in his hair and a red unzipped vest over a no–sleeve black shirt. His pants are baggy, green and have two long straps going down to his knees and his shoes are also red with black socks.

"_He_ got you fair and square this time Kaito!" A short, young blonde boy spoke up. This was Cubic "Edison" Galois. His outfit consists of a white shirt, a green tie, a light yellow vest, blue trousers, brown shoes and a long lab coat.

At those words, another raised their hand. What appeared to be a young woman was actually a man. "I, Ana, agree with Cubic!" Ana "Da Vinci" Gram had long, brown, straight hair and green eyes. He wore a long white and yellow dress, an orange scarf, white bandages on his arms and white slippers.

"There's no freakin' way that's far!" Kaito shouted.

"What are you talking about?! That's _definitely _fair!" Gammon yelled back.

"This puzzle you came up with is a complete flop!" Kaito raised the puzzle in question, which was a magic square. Something that was so basic for him to understand, and yet it took him beyond the normal time limit to solve it. He lost the bet to Gammon, and now he had to pay the price.

"So _what_ if it was a flop? I won!"

"You freakin' cheated somehow!"

"Hai, hai, that's enough you two!" A girl shouted getting in between two and pushing them back from each other. She was about their age, wearing the standard schoolgirl uniform, consisting of a white t–shirt with a red ribbon tied into the collar and a purple skirt that went a little over her knees with pink sneakers. This was Nonoha "Nightingale" Itou.

"Nonoha talk some sense into him!" Kaito demanded of the newcomer.

"No, way she's on _my_ side!" Gammon retorted. In mere seconds both were clogged on the head. Both of the boys flinched under the punch they received, having to rub their heads at the punch form the female.

"Seriously, what's done is done. Its unanimously decided that Gammon won, so you have to do whatever he says for a whole day."

Kaito looked shocked, "NONOHA!"

"Heh, heh…" Gammon smirked smugly.

"Mattaku mou… it's only a week since Jin's… gone, and you two are already going at it." Nonoha grumbled. Tension hung in the air. Everyone was silent, hanging their heads in the air. That event happened not that long ago, it still carried a bitter taste in everyone's mouths. Nonoha realized what she did and quickly shook her head. "Come on Jin wouldn't want us to act like this! So by the way Gammon… what kind of ideas did you have in mind for Kaito?"

Gammon perked up and smiled evilly. "Oh, I have a _lot_ of ideas."

Kaito flinched. He knew that smirk. Whenever that smirk was on Gammon's face he wanted nothing more than to rip it off, and yet, currently he couldn't. He was bound by word.

"You put me in a dress and I will find a way to kill you."

"Oh that's the _least_ of your worries." Gammon snickered.

Cold sweat began dripping down Kaito's back. Oh this was not good.

"O–Oi, there's someone injured!" A student shouted.

"Where the heck did he come from?"

The voices of the students below caught the Phi–Brain children's attention.

Nonoha peeked over the balcony to see the students running outside, both genders racing out towards the front of the building.

"N–Nanda…" Nonoha stuttered.

"What the heck's going on down there?" Gammon asked annoyed. Kaito blinked before walking over to the windows. Peering outside he saw the students cluttered around something.

His eyes widened.

"Oh boy, the principal's on the move!" As he spoke, a man appearing older than the students was weaving through the crowd.

He was a middle aged man in his 30's and has somewhat messy hair on one side but neat on the other. He wears small glasses that didn't need the temples and earpieces and he had a somewhat scruffy goatee. He wore a three piece suit with a red vest and purple scarf in it. This was Baron Kaidō, the Headmaster of Root Academy.

"This might be something important!" Cubic remarked as he jumped onto his personal robotic aid.

Ana nodded at that, "I, Ana, think we should investigate!"

"We might as well. Let's go!" Kaito said before running down the stairs.

"Oi, get back here Bakaito, I haven't told you what I'm about to do to you!" Gammon shouted going after him.

"Screw that! We gotta bigger things to worry about!" Kaito snapped.

The group ran out of the cafeteria and towards the massive group. Slowly the circle of students, were dispelling, only because of the Principal's words.

"Return all of you. I will make sure he gets help."

"Hey, what's going on?" a voice asked. The Phi–Brain children turned to see a male with longish brown hair and green eyes wearing the male student uniform while holding a small carton of apple juice. This was Souji "Newton" Jikukawa.

"Jikukawa–sempai!" Cubic acknowledged.

"Aren't you busy with university?" Gammon asked.

"I got all the work done. I came here on request of Headmaster Baron."

As if on cue, the principal of Root Academy appeared from the sea of people. "Ah, Kaito–kun, minna," Baron said acknowledging them.

"What gives? We heard someone was injured." Kaito raised an eyebrow.

"Ah yes, we will have to discuss that later. For now meet me in my office."

Meanwhile, Souji looked around and noticed the injured person on the ground, recognizing him. He was about Kaito's age having brown hair in the style that one would think was Kira Yamato and if he were open his eyes, they would be blue, "Kurogasa!" He shouted, running over to him.

Gammon replied, "Who?"

"A member of the POG," Souji replied as he picked up the boy with Baron's help. "He was assigned a mission a couple weeks back but we lost contact with him. I'll take him to the infirmary sir."

"Please do so, I will alert his parents." Baron nodded as Souji began walking away, holding Kurogasa's arm around his neck and wrapping an arm around his waist. The boy was battered and beaten, an observation that had Souji questioning what could have happened.

"R–Rook…" Kurogasa muttered.

Souji raised an eyebrow. What did Rook have to do with this? Looking forward he jumped. Kaito was standing in front of him.

"Oi, what about Rook, did something happen to him?!"

Kurogasa looked up at him. "Rook's… in danger…"

The Phi Brain children gasped, "What?!"

"Beethoven's… Mad… Melody…" He muttered, before finally passing out. For some reason, Baron stopped in his tracks and turned around, looking at the injured boy in pure shock.

"…So it _does_ exists…"

"Okay what the heck's going on?!" Gammon hissed as Cubic rode on his assistant. Raising a screen he pointed it at Kurogasa.

"Hmm… his vitals check okay, it looks like exhaustion… Wait… his shirt! Raise his right arm!"

Uh… why…?" Kaito asked.

"Just do it!" Cubic's orders startled Kaito and the others. If Cubic was upset this must've meant something. Kaito raised the sleeves on the injured boy's right arm.

"…You can't be…" A hand nearly covered Nonoha's mouth.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Gammon's eyes could barely believe it.

Ana gawked in shock, "Impossible…They were all destroyed with Orpheus right?!"

Kaito couldn't say anything. He didn't want to believe it, but it was on this boy's arm in plain sight.

It was an Orpheus Ring.

"Yappari…" Cubic gritted.

"Who _is_ this kid?" Kaito asked himself.

* * *

Everyone had assembled in the principal's office, each wearing a face of either shock or discomfort. Their long battle that had been fought for years, the one battle they thought was over, came back into their lives. How could this be? It was a question no one could answer.

"This is worse than I thought…" Baron grimaced.

"Can someone tell me what's going on around here?!" Kaito shouted, "What the heck happened to Rook?!"

Baron, who had his hands together, squeezed them both. He didn't want to get the children involved, but now that Kurogasa appeared, there was no use. "I tried to hide this form you. So that none of you would be involved anymore. We have recently found evidence of something… you could say was evil."

"Evil…?" Nonoha echoed.

"A horrible symphony that would drive people into madness,"

"What are you talking about?" Gammon asked.

Baron was silent for a bit before saying, "Have any of you ever listened to Ludwig van Beethoven's music?"

"Ana has!" Said male raised his hand.

"What do you think of it?"

"Hmm…" Ana placed a finger on his chin as he looked up. "I would say they're very gentle pieces. They are nice, but fierce like the ocean. He also made warm melodies that portray the power of music."

"…He composed melodies that appealed to our senses. Some say that he used a form of Synesthesia to do so. However, in his successful career, he created a piece that was not meant for enjoyment, but to drive a person insane…"

"W–Why would he want to do that?" Nonoha stuttered.

"Even I do not know but, it could be possible he was in a depression. He was deaf in the last ten years of his life. No matter how much of a genius he was praised as, he could not hear the melodies he composed himself. An illness struck him afterwards. Perhaps that was the final key to it. However, this is only purely speculation and opinion on my part." Baron explained.

"So then, what does Kurogasa have to do with this?" Cubic asked.

"During the events with the Master Brains, I asked him to try and find clues on the location of the score. I knew that there were… fanatics… that would abuse the power of the score and knew of its existence. Originally the POG hidden the score in pieces, but now we have decided it is too dangerous to continue to exist." Baron declared.

"That is what we plan on doing. However the location of the score pieces, have been lost to us. I asked Kurogasa to hunt down the score pieces due to his unique ability."

Ana asked, "He has… a unique ability?"

"Yes. He has been given the title of "Morse"." Baron nodded.

"Morse? You mean like in Morse code?" Nonoha asked.

"Indeed. He's a genius. Originally we thought he might be a Phi Brain child chosen by the Orpheus Ring, but originally he wasn't."

"It's a fake, gotta be!" Gammon replied.

"Fake or not, it doesn't change the fact he has one." Cubic noted.

"Who cares about the ring? What about Rook?!" Kaito's shouted.

Baron narrowed his eyes. Standing up from his chair the headmaster sighed. "Kurogasa found the location of the first score, and he was saved by Rook shortly after Jin's passing." His eyes closed as he recalled the conversation he had with Rook. "Rook knew the dangers of the score. When possessed by the armlet, he once thought about using it as a Fool's Puzzle. Kurogasa revealed the truth about what we had planned, and Rook joined Kurogasa in tracking down the score pieces."

"So what happened after?" Kaito asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to get the answers from Kurogasa when he wakes up." Baron said.

"I'll go check on him if you want." Nonoha offered.

"Please do, Souji should be with him." Baron nodded as Nonoha saluted. With that, Nonoha left the office with the others watching her go off.

* * *

Inside the infirmary, Souji was drinking his favorite apple juice. He was sitting in a chair adjacent to the cot Kurogasa laid on. The boy's face and arms were bandaged, but all Souji could look at was the armlet on the boy's shoulder.

_'Orpheus is gone, and yet his legacy continues. Sorry that we got you involved with our mess Kurogasa… Or is this the fate of all those involved with the Puzzle of God?'_ Souji's thoughts continued, as a thunderstorm began brewing in the sky, threatening to unleash a wrath of nature upon the school.

At that point, Nonoha came into the infirmary. "Oh, Nonoha," He recognized.

"How is he?" Nonoha asked.

"Same as I brought him in, no change." Nonoha looked over at the boy. He was sleeping peacefully, that put her mind at ease.

"I hope he wakes up soon. So…" The girl turned her attention back to Souji, who only widened his gaze. "How is it you know him?"

"Let's see…" Souji tilted his head down as he took another sip out of the straw. "Ah right, it was during summer break three years back. I found him completing one of the puzzles I placed on display when I was part of the Puzzle Club." Souji recalled the memory with ease, recalling the young boy who enjoyed the puzzle he created.

* * *

**Flashback – 3 Years Ago**

_Many people passed by the booth that promoted the club, but none seemed too keen on joining. Souji and others still had fun though, promoting the games they loved to do. _

_"Whoa, this is amazing!" _

_Souji blinked before turning to the right. A young, brown haired boy, possibly a middle school student was in front of the puzzle he placed out on display, a Sudoku puzzle that many people tried by failed at._

_"Would you like to try the puzzle?" Souji asked the boy._

_"Can I?!" The boy exclaimed, to which Souji nodded. Immediately the young man went towards the puzzle._

'He sure looks enthusiastic.'_ Souji thought to himself with a smile._

_The young boy took one of the sample squares sitting inside a container on the bow. Taking the pencil he began scratching down the answer. A large smile was on his face the entire time. _

_"I got it!" Kurogasa's declaration earned shocked looks from everyone, including Souji. The boy ran up to him and gave him the sample, all complete and correct. Souji was both surprised and impressed. _

_The boy then said, "That puzzle, it was really fun. Whoever made this puzzle, give them my thank you! It's really good!"_

_"Uh…" Souji blinked, looking at the Sudoku puzzle. He couldn't believe it… he actually got it right._

_"See ya!" The boy chirped, before starting to run off._

_"H–Hey, wait a minute!" Souji called out. The boy stopped at Souji's call. Turning around, the dark haired young man saw a gentle expression on the freshman's face. _

_"What's your name?" _

_"Kurogasa… Kururugi Kurogasa!"_

_"Right, Kurogasa," Souji said. "Would you like to join the Puzzle Club?"_

_At those words the young Kurogasa tilted his head down. "I… I would like to… except I can't. I won't attend Root Academy." His voice was solemn._

_"Oh? Why's that?" Souji asked a bit surprised._

_"…I will be going overseas once I get through with Junior High. But… in all honesty I wish I could come. If there are people like you guys who can make such fun puzzles I would enter in a heartbeat, but the guardians have decided for me…" Kurogasa scratched the back of his head, anxiety and nervousness washing through him._

_"I see…" Souji nodded, as he pondered on his words._

_Kurogasa nodded his head, his gaze towards the ground. "Yeah… so… see ya…" The boy known as Kurogasa left the stand, leaving those in the Puzzle Club curious and upset. _

* * *

**A few months later…**

_Souji, now a newly formed member of the POG as a Solver, was standing inside the principal's office, waiting for a family of Solvers and Givers to walk through the door. In essence he was to be training under one of them but he had no clue on the teachers who were going to teach him. _

_He felt he had to do this, to make up for not being the chosen one of the Orpheus Ring. The doors to the headmaster's office opened. _

_"Welcome Kururugi family." Baron stood up from his seat, traveling towards them before he stood in front of another male. Outstretching his arm he was expecting the other to take it._

_Souji's eyes widened when he saw …Kurogasa?! No way!_

_With him were his parents. His dad was practically an older version of Kurogasa. His mother had long flowing pink hair with gray eyes, having a kind face. One would almost think that she was Lacus Clyne, but it wasn't._

_Kurogasa turned to the right. Blue eyes widened as he saw the boy standing there. "Wait you're that guy from the Puzzle Club stand!" _

_"Actually I'm the president, but I recently stepped down. I'm now the Student Council President of Root Academy, Jikukawa Souji." Souji smiled as he reintroduced himself to the boy._

_"Oh…" Kurogasa blinked. "Uh… it's good seeing ya again."_

_"Likewise, so then, can I assume the reason you can't attend Root Academy is because you're a member of the POG Japan branch?" Souji's question caused Kurogasa to stiffen at the remark. The hit was dead on. _

_"So this boy is the new member Baron?" Kurogasa's father asked, having a smile on his face. _

_"Yes. His Title is Newton."_

_"I see." Kurogasa's father said before turning to Souji. "My name's Kyoshiro and this is my wife Yukina." He gestured._

_"It's nice to meet you, Jikukawa–kun." Yukina smiled before bowing._

_"Likewise, Kururugi–san," The male bowed in respect to the woman. _

_"Okay so we basically have to train him?" Kyoshiro asked, scratching the back of his head. _

_"Just for a week, I can guarantee that is all he will need." Baron nodded._

_"Alright then," Kyoshiro held out his hand to Souji. "Let's get along Jikukawa–kun!" _

_Souji blinked a few times. This was not what he was expecting in a POG officer. Unlike the others he had seen; this one was kind and friendly. The man's attitude rubbed off on Souji, he couldn't help but smile at his new teacher. _

_"Yes, Kururugi–sensei,"_

**End Flashback**

* * *

Nonoha blinked a few times. She had listened to Souji's story, and part of her found it interesting, and yet typical. Of course they would meet over puzzles. "Wow…" Nonoha said.

Souji smiled. "I have to admit it was a fun week. Even if I was being trained to create puzzles that would push a human's brain to its limits, possibly even kill, I learned how to create the right puzzles, one with answers and escape paths. Puzzles shouldn't be used to harm people, but rather used for enjoyment. Kururugi-sensei was definitely a guy with heart, and his son inherited that heart."

"So then… was this guy going to…?" Nonoha's eyes shifted a bit. Souji knew what she was going to ask and shook his head.

"No they wouldn't let him be a Giver and he didn't want to be unless it was under his terms."

"Oh that's good."

"Mmmmm…" They heard a mumble.

Nonoha and Souji turned to the bed. The brown haired boy was stirring awake. Slowly, he opened his eyes. IN his field of vision was Nonoha, who only looked at him with a worried look.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" Kurogasa got out, as his field of vision was clearing up. When he opened his eyes, he gasped lightly as a blush crept up on his face.

"Huh? Are you feeling okay? Your cheeks are red."

"I… uh…"

"It's been a while Kurogasa," Said boy turned to the source of the voice, the one who bore the title of Newton.

"Jikukawa–sempai!"

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Kurogasa said as he tried to get up, but cringe in pain, "Okay, maybe not so much…"

"Hey, take it easy." Nonoha said as she gently pushed him down to have him lay down on the bed again.

"Uh… okay…" His cheeks flushed once more. "So… uh… who are you?"

"Me?" Nonoha pointed to herself as Kurogasa nodded. "Itou Nonoha."

"She's my junior, and another who possesses a title, Morse." Souji smiled as he called Kurogasa by his other name.

"Oi, that's not official…" Nonoha hissed.

"I'd say otherwise …Nightingale."

"H–Hey," Nonoha blushed.

"Nightingale huh…" Kurogasa muttered. "I'd say it suits you."

Why were her cheeks burning up? Nonoha stared at him with widened eyes and a shock expression. "N–No it doesn't!"

Souji chuckled at his kouhai's expression. But he knew he would have to stop. It was time for business. "Kurogasa, I need you to tell me and the Headmaster what happened."

"Wait… Am I at Root Academy?" Kurogasa looked around. He only now took in the place he was at, an infirmary of a school. And if Jikukawa was here, then he was near Root Academy, or inside the academy.

"Yes. You passed out at the gates."

"I see." Kurogasa said as he stared at the ceiling. "I was in Paris, France when it happened."

Nonoha exclaimed, "France?! How did you get back to Japan?"

"I…" His right hand weaved through his brown hair. His memory was fuzzy. He couldn't recall what happened. His hand gripped his hair, teeth gritting as he tried to remember what happened. "I found the location of the score… Rook came along… He asked me to stay behind so I did. He never came back after a while so I went in after him… it was in an abandoned church with an underground passage that led to the catacombs. Rook solved the puzzle, but…" Blue eyes widened. "That's right… Rook was captured!"

Souji and Nonoha gasped. Rook was captured?! Both people exchanged glances. If they told Kaito this he would fly off the bat. Silently agreeing to not tell him, they turned back to Kurogasa.

"Alright, what's the last thing you recall seeing?" Brown eyes narrowed as Souji began thinking of who was the culprit, even though there was one possible suspect.

"I don't know…" Kurogasa said. "The only thing I remember was solving a Kenja Puzzle that led to the location of the first score."

"…Kurogasa, take a look at your right arm." Souji's words only cause a wave of confusion to hit the brown haired boy. Even so he did as he was told.

"…Uh, Sempai…?"

"Yes, that is an Orpheus Ring."

"Okay… How did I get it?"

"I don't know."

"Well… I don't know how I got it…"

"HOW CAN YOU TWO SPEAK SO CALM AND CASUAL ABOUT IT?!" Nonoha was in complete disarray.

"Oi, oi, calm down." Souji sweat dropped with a nervous laugh.

"But in all seriousness, I don't know how I got it. I only remember the Sage Puzzle I solved. It was fairly easy too." Kurogasa said.

* * *

**Flashback**

_Kurogasa stood in the underground lair. He had solve the mystery of the church's altar and found the hidden passageway to the catacombs. With determined eyes the boy walked forward towards the second altar. Was this it, did he find it? His mind was racing with the possibilities, but deep inside he prayed it was the score piece._

_However, when he walked up to it, he frowned and saw that it was a puzzle. Inscribed on the altar were three circles overlapping each other in a triangle, with seven holes; each hole had a different number. The top hole had the number 6. The bottom left hole has the number 4 and the bottom right hole has the number 3. Between the top and bottom left hole was a hole with the number 5. The hole on the bottom between the bottom left and right holes also had the number 6. The hole between the top and bottom right hole had the number six as well. And the last hole, smacked in the middle had the number 5._

_In front of that, were seven colored crystal orbs, each were the size of a baseball. The colors from left to right were: Black, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, and finally Red._

_A smile stitched across Kurogasa's face. He was expecting something like this. The male placed his hand on the altar. _

_*BOOM!*_

_The ground beneath him shook, startling him a bit as he looked around. The area was collapsing. _

_"Okay so if I don't solve this I die, typical."_

_He then looked at the altar once again to analyze it. "Okay, so I have seven colored orbs and seven slots. Multiplyin = 5,040; meaning there are 5,040 possible combinations on how I can put these crystal orbs in the slots."_

_The figures mapped in his head, and yet he knew that there was an easier way to solve the riddle. Smirking the male yanked out the red crystal. "But there is another way to solve it, through the numbers in the holes! They correspond to the number of letters of the colors in English!" _

_He slammed the red crystal into the slot with the number 3 in it. "Since Red has three letters it goes there, then we follow up with the only color with 4 letters, Blue!"_

_Placing the blue orb in the 4 slot, the area began to tremble even more. "And that gives away the true purpose of the puzzle. The outside ring contain, the primary colors with the circles overlapping being the secondary colors when merged together! So Yellow goes here!" _

_He placed the yellow orb on the outside ring containing the number 6. _

_"And now I can fill up the others. Yellow and Blue make Green, Red and Blue make Purple, and Red and Yellow make Orange!" He placed the corresponding colors into the holes until only one was left. _

_"And the one color made when all of these are mixed together is BLACK!" _

_Slamming the orb into the final middle slot, the area stabilized. The room was still a mess, as the broken columns scattered in many pieces, but Kurogasa was safe._

_"Code cracked." Kurogasa grinned smugly._

_At that point, the altar he used to solve the puzzle slid away from him, rumbling for a while before it revealed another underground staircase. "Huh… how far does this go?" Kurogasa walked down the staircase, though luckily it was shorter than the previous one._

_When he got to the bottom, he was on a small cliff and found a huge giant chasm between him and another, small ledge on the other side. And on the other side, was the first score of Beethoven's Mad Melody._

_"Bingo." Kurogasa smiled. Finally, the first score was located. Once he got it, all he had to do was burn it. "I gotta tell Rook!" He said before turning back to head up the stairs and all the way back to above ground._

**End Flashback**

* * *

"That's all I remember." Kurogasa said sadly.

"…Why didn't you take the score with you?" Nonoha's right eyebrow twitched.

"Uh… well… Okay so I had an idiot moment… Plus there might have been traps around the score so I didn't risk it. I ran back to the hotel we were supposed to meet up at. I took him to the area, and I know he solved the puzzles, but then I heard voices. I followed them and it turned out there was another entrance to that place. I don't know what happened after that…"

"Still you could've at least tried." Nonoha said.

Kurogasa was suddenly curled up in his bed, with the bangs covering his eyes as an imaginary storm cloud hovered above him and imaginary rained poured down on his head. "I'm sorry…"

Nonoha realized what she said and shook her head. "Uh no, no, it's okay. You at least found the score piece… but… How do you know Rook was captured?"

Kurogasa was silent for a bit, before saying, "Go to my coat and check in the pocket."

Souji looked over at the silver coat that lied over the seat beside the boy. Traveling towards it, he reached his hand left hand into the coat pocket. There was something round in it. Souji took hold of the object and pulled it out. Nonoha and Souji both widened their eyes.

"Is this…"

"That wood sphere puzzle." Nonoha got out.

"I found that while I was searching for Rook in that abandoned church. It was the only clue left behind."

Souji narrowed his eyes. Was this a sign of things to come? Did those that desire the end finally appeared? Gripping the sphere Souji turned back to Kurogasa.

"Think you can walk?"

"Huh?" Kurogasa asked confused.

"Can you walk?" Souji repeated.

"I'll try, but no promises…" Kurogasa said as he slowly managed to sit up while cringing in pain. Two feet planted on the ground. His muscles were begging the boy not to move, but even so he had to. He managed to stand on wobbling legs. He took a step forward, only to collapse back onto the bed. "Ow… no, I can't walk yet." Kurogasa winced.

"Then I will bring everyone here. Nonoha, play nurse for a bit won't you?"

Nonoha looked shocked, "Haaa!?" Her mouth agape, stuttered words formed as her mouth clapped open and close like a gapping fish. Souji merely waved at the two as he exited the room.

"Always blunt and to the point." Kurogasa scoffed with a smirk. "That's Jikukawa–sempai for you."

"No kidding…" The brown haired girl dropped her head in exasperation. She would never be free of situations like this. With a deep sigh she turned back to the boy on the cot. "Soo… what are your interests besides Puzzles?"

"My other interests…?" Kurogasa asked before he went to think about it. "Let's see… I like to write stories, mostly about Kamen Riders."

"Kamen Riders… you mean those dudes that transform and stuff?"

"The same ones," Kurogasa nodded. "I gotta admit I've been a fan of those shows since I was a kid, still am actually."

Nonoha blinked. So besides puzzles, he liked TV Shows. A smile laced her face. This one looked like he could be saved! He could be normal!

"Oh and I also like to cook stuff too. I make good bento lunches if I do say so myself." He chuckled.

"So you cook, watch TV shows, and write stories for other interests other than doing puzzles. Not bad… you're much more normal than the rest of them!" Nonoha nodded her head with her arms crossed, the smile growing bigger. She could definitely hang out with him and not get a headache in the process!

"Huh?" Kurogasa asked confused. "What do you mean?"

The girl flinched, waving her hands. "Uh… you'll find out… so you work for the POG?"

"I'm not officially joined but I will be shortly once I graduate from High School." Kurogasa explained.

"I see. Jikukawa–sempai said your parents worked for the POG too."

Kurogasa flinched a bit at that. "Y–Yeah, they did… or I should say, used to…"

Nonoha blinked. What did he mean by that? "Did they quit?"

Kurogasa shook his head as he looked down sadly. "No… they… they're gone…"

Nonoha gasped. It wasn't loud, but a soft one. Her eyes narrowed. Why did she even ask that?

"I… I'm sorry… that was rude of me…"

"No, don't worry about it. You didn't know…" Kurogasa waved off, trying to assure her.

"Still I shouldn't have asked…" She was still upset with herself, though tried to appear cheerful. However, there was that one fact that reminded her of that someone. "You know… there is someone who can relate to you in a way. He's here and… he's also the best friend of Rook."

"Who would that be?" Kurogasa asked looking at her.

*BAM!*

As if on cue, Kaito Daimon slammed the door open.

"YO!"

"What the heck Kaito!" Nonoha scolded the young man, who only ignored her as he stood in front of Kurogasa.

"You're the last person to see Rook right?! Tell me everything you know, now!"

"Oi Kaito, calm down!" Nonoha scolded as the others came into the room.

"I will once I learn what happened to Rook! Spill it!" Kaito grabbed Kurogasa by his collar, teeth gritted.

"Ow, you're hurting me…" Kurogasa winced in pain.

"Kaito, ochitsuite," Cubic said worriedly.

"Kaito Daimon!" Nonoha slammed the side of her hand onto his head. His grip on the boy was lost as a pair of hands began nursing the wound.

"Dang it Nonoha!"

"Hey, what's gotten into you?" Gammon frowned.

"Yeah, you were hurting Kuro–Kuro," Ana added.

Kaito didn't answer; merely look away from everyone's gazes as he continued to rub his head. Nonoha, however, had a feeling as to why he did what he did. Rook, his childhood friend, was captured and he was unable to help him. He just lost Jin, and now the fear of losing someone else precious to him was getting to him.

"Kaito, I can understand why you are worried. But, what Kurogasa told me is all he knows. He knows Rook is captured because of the puzzle; don't blame yourself for being unable to help him." Souji tried to offer words of advice and comforting. Their recent battles were a nightmare. Only by a miracle was everyone able to survive.

"Che…" Kaito scoffed before storming off out of the room.

Kurogasa glared lightly at the male. But… if he was the Kaito that Rook spoke so fondly of, looked up to, then he could understand why he assaulted the brown haired male. Even so, Kurogasa knew he didn't deserve it.

"Kurogasa," A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Coming into the room was Baron Kaidō.

"Baron–san…"

The male nodded to the boy, his own way of greeting. "I need you to tell me everything. No… all of us need to know Kurogasa."

"R–Right… What about… uh… Kaito–san?"

"If anything else I will tell him." Nonoha offered.

"Alright…" Kurogasa nodded to the girl.

* * *

"Kuso!" Kaito shouted as he was outside the campus, kicking an empty can. "First Jin and now possibly Rook!"

He was worried, beyond worried for his friend. He had lost Jin recently. What would he do if he lost Rook?! Kaito sat down on a bench. He hoped coming outside would clear his head but all the fresh air did was make his mind more muddled.

Kurogasa came to mind.

"…I gotta apologize later…"

"Ehehehehehehehehe, what's wrong? Feeling the blues?" A voice taunted.

Kaito's eyes widened. His feet planted on the ground as he stood up, looking around him. "Alright who are you?!" He knew it was useless to ask where the person was hiding, so might as well go for the second best question.

"Well, that's not a nice way to greet someone!" The voice pouted but it had a playful side to it.

"Well then get down here and let's have a proper conversation!" Kaito retorted, tired of the voice toying with him.

"My, my, how rude," The voice said. "Teenagers… they never respect their elders these days."

"Grrrrrrr… stop playing this game!" Kaito's scream echoed through the sky, portraying the anger and anxiety he felt in his body. The power behind it was enough to make a normal person tremble.

"Stop playing this game? Where's the fun in _that_? I _love_ playing games!"

"I am _this_ close to–"

"Now, now, hold your horses, I'll get to it!" The voice said. "Since you're playing hard to get at, I'll tell you. I'm here to challenge you to a Puzzle!"

Kaito echoed, "A puzzle?"

"Exactly… Or to be more specific, I'm challenging you to a Fool's Puzzle."

Kaito gasped, "Nani?!"

"I didn't stutter." The voice said. "If you want to meet with me, head over to this location! I'll be waiting!" At that point, a random card flew from out of nowhere and corner of the card stuck on the ground in front of Kaito. The black haired male gulped. Kneeling down he took the card in hand and read the coordinates. It was self–explanatory, nothing special. He was to head to the cafeteria and begin from there.

"Alright, I'll solve your puzzle…" The growl released form Kaito was followed with him sprinting towards the destination.

* * *

"That's everything, I swear!" Kurogasa had finished his side of the story, repeating what he told Souji mere moments ago. Several pairs of eyes narrowed.

"So… this Mad Melody… you found a piece of it and LOST IT?!" Gammon yelled.

*BOP!*

"OW!" Gammon shouted, before being bopped on the head by Nonoha's shoe.

"That's what he just told you!" Nonoha snapped.

"I know and I still can't believe it!"

"I get it already alright!?" Kurogasa snapped at the red head. "I know I screwed up massively!"

"In any case, what matters is that we have to get the score of Beethoven's Mad Melody before it falls into the wrong hands." Jikukawa said.

"But where can we even start looking?" Cubic asked.

"Ana says we should start with those that know about it!" The long haired male declared.

"That's a good idea Da Vinci." Baron nodded his head. "We'll start with those that are interested in the scores existence, though we may have a culprit in mind."

"Who do you have in mind?" Kurogasa asked.

"I will explain once I have the evidence to back it up. In the meantime, Jikukawa," Baron turned to the university student. "I will need you help with this."

"Sure."

"Edison, I will need yours and Da Vinci's help as well."

Both of those that bore the titles of the famous inventor and painter nodded.

"Nightingale, look after Morse. I will need to make a few calls and arrange the transfer of a certain individual." With those words the headmaster left the room.

"Hey wait a minute, what about me?!" Gammon protested.

"What _about_ you? You're as useful as Kaito when he can't solve puzzles." Cubic's playful remark only earned him a harsh glare.

"Nandato~…?" Gammon growled.

"If you wanna help out, go find Kaito!" Nonoha said. "Besides, he needs to apologize to Kurogasa after what he did to him."

A frequent beeping noise erupted form Cubic's coat. Through the lab coat a red light flashed on and off. The small blonde took the item out of the coat. A square like object with a holographic screen projected different wave patterns.

"This wave pattern… Kaito's involved in a Fool's Puzzle!"

Everyone had shocked looks on their faces, "EHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

* * *

Kaito panted, standing in the cafeteria that was now free of students. He silently thanked the heavens that no one was here. If the students got involved in a Fool's Puzzle, Kaito wouldn't know what to do. His breath steadied as he looked around. He saw no clues as to where his next destination was supposed to be. "Alright, I'm here! Show yourself!" Kaito demanded.

A loud rotation of gears caused Kaito to turn around. The shutters were closing one by one, the glass windows from behind were hidden behind steel walls. Slowly, whatever light was in the room was vanishing. Kaito tried to adjust his eyes but it was too late. The shutters sealed off the cafeteria, blocking any and all light from the outside.

Flames lit up one by one around the room. Kaito's vision was restored and his eyes widened.

Standing five meters ahead of him was another male in a purple cloak.

"It's an honor to meet the one who defeated Orpheus. Kaito Daimon." The figure removed the hood from his head.

It was difficult to pin down the male's age given the anorexic look to his face, but given his grey hair that framed his face, Kaito would say he had to be at least in his late forties. Ugly, swamp green eyes bore into Kaito's brown orbs, as a chill ran down the Phi Brain child's spine. His face was sickly pale, as if he would keel over and die any second.

"Who are you?!" Kaito demanded.

"You can call me Hades." The man introduced.

"The Greek God of Death huh…? What? You worship him or something?"

"As a matter of fact I do."

Kaito looked at him strangely, "Excuse me?"

"The lord of death, the one who holds our lives in his hand… A simple cut of the threat and the flames are forfeit." Hades began, outstretching his arms as a sadistic grin formed on his face. "Oh what wonder, to live on the edge of that thread, to be the doll in God's hands that he chooses to end; Kaito Daimon, this will be your resting place, but don't fret, I will allow you the dim hope of survival."

"Let's just start this Fool's Puzzle already!" Kaito gritted.

"My, my, so eager to die aren't you?" Hades chuckled.

"No I am eager to smash your puzzle and beat the crap out of you!"

"Hehehehehehehe… very well then… It makes things easier for me and it will be one less person I have to worry about by the time I'm through with you. Then after I'm through with you, I can search for the score of Beethoven's Mad Melody at my own leisure."

"What?" Kaito gasped with wide eyes.

"Behold!" Hades rejoiced, outstretching his arms wide.

The lights turned on one by one, revealing that they were no longer in the cafeteria. Kaito was standing in the middle of a large clock. The hands were pointing at 12, but the numbers were in roman numerals. What caught Kaito's attention the most, were the black boxes surrounding the room.

"What's with these boxes?" Kaito asked.

"Haven't you realized it boy? Those are bombs!"

"You gotta be…" Kaito's eyes widened. Of course he would be stuck in a room, with a puzzle, and a bunch of bombs that littered the walls. Chords ran form the boxes to the large clock, each attached to the electronic timepiece.

"You have five minutes to complete this puzzle. But there cannot be a puzzle without the hint!"

"Okay, spill it, what is it?" Kaito asked.

"235, Oh and the hands are to be placed in the corresponding letter." The man known as Hades jumped off from the clock. The lights turned off once more before turning back on, Hades vanished.

"235? The hands correspond to a letter? That doesn't make any sense." Kaito said but then smirked. "But no matter, there's no puzzle I can't solve! Pazaru Taimu no…" He then pulled down the bottom of one of his eyelids and stuck his tongue out. "…Hajimari da!"

* * *

Cubic had pulled up a schematic of the school, trying to pinpoint Kaito's exact location. Even so he was having difficulty. "Man, I can't get an exact location of where Kaito is." Cubic said in annoyance.

"Can't you get an estimate of where he might be?" Souji asked.

"I can try, but that would be inside the school itself."

"Oh so we only have to find a massive puzzle inside a seventy story building. That sound freakin easy!" Gammon's sarcasm was met with a growl from Cubic as he tried to lower the possibilities of where Kaito might be.

Souji narrowed his eyes. There must be an easier way to track Kaito down but…

His eyes widened.

"Cubic, don't focus on Kaito!"

"Huh?"

"Focus on the areas within the school that seem odd, like the shutters having activated or alarms."

"Uh, ok." Cubic said before typing in the information on the touch screen of his robot friend, scanning the schematics of the school until he got a hit. "Ah, the shutters from the cafeteria are closed for some reason!"

"Then that's where he is!" Nonoha declared.

"Nonoha, stay with Kurogasa–"

"No way, I'm coming!" The brown haired male's retort was followed with a groan.

"You can't go." Souji said. "You're still injured and you need to recover."

"I know that but I want to help in some way!" Kurogasa replied. "I know there is something I can do to help! Please Jikukawa–sempai!"

Souji was silent for a while, thinking of what he should do. After a while, he said, "I guess there's no harm in that. Besides, Kaito is trapped in there and if you really think about it, Kaito's the only one in danger and not us."

Kurogasa's eyes widened, a grin breaking out as he stood. He still felt pain in his legs but it wasn't as bad as before. He was able to walk, that was all he could ask for.

"Are you sure you can walk?" Nonoha asked a bit worried.

"I'll be fine." Kurogasa assured. "It's just worse than it looks." Brown eyes met with blue. It was obvious that Nonoha wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. With a heavy sigh, she gestured to the door. "Thanks," Kurogasa said, before painfully wobbling over to the door. "C'mon, we gotta be quick and save Kaito."

* * *

Sweat trailed off Kaito's face. He had five minutes to solve the puzzle. His only hint being the number 235. The answer would be a Greek letter that could be formed with the hands of the clock. As it stood, there were three possible solutions.

Iota…

Lambda…

Gamma…

But none of those letters corresponded to the number mentioned in the hint.

"This doesn't make any sense…" Kaito gritted as he looked up at a digital clock and and saw he had less than four minutes left. "Okay. If 235 were broken down, it would be 47 times 5. But five is the number of Epsilon. It's not possible to make the letter with two hands."

Kaito gritted his teeth. He only had three minutes left.

"What's the matter Kaito Daimon?" Hades voice spoke out to him.

"Grrrrr…" Kaito growled, looking up.

"Is it too hard for you to solve?" Hades taunted. "Does that mean your victory over Orpheus was just a fluke?" The mention of Orpheus drew out the memory he had concealed inside himself. The last few moments of Jin's life… Kaito gritted his teeth, his body trembled massively.

"No… I've had enough!" His right eye opened the pathway. Instead of searching for the answers in a limited space, he began searching for the answer in the universe within himself.

* * *

Cubic continued to monitor Kaito's brain wavelength as they arrived at the cafeteria. All the shutters were closed, blocking out everything, "Oh no, his brain activity spiked up!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Kurogasa asked.

"It's very bad! He managing to control it but if he keeps up he will be in danger! Whatever puzzle he is solving is pushing his limits!" Cubic hollered.

"Kaito…" Nonoha said worriedly.

"A–re…?" Ana said as he got close to the shutters and felt something warm. "The shutters feel warm."

This caused a massive spike in curiosity as everyone placed their hands on it. Ana was right. The male painter placed the right side of his face on the shutter, his ear squeezed between the shutter and his head.

Tick… Tick… Tick…

"Ana hears a clock ticking!"

A clock…? That single thought ran through everyone's minds. Why would a clock be ticking?

"It's a time bomb!" Cubic's declaration was met with groans.

"Not again!" Gammon whined.

"U–Uh, shouldn't we be clearing out?!" Kurogasa panicked.

"We can't leave! Kaito is still inside!" Everyone agreed with Ana's shout.

"If only we could get inside…" Nonoha whispered.

"Cubic do you think you can connect to the school's network? I'll try and hack the system to open the shutters." Souji asked.

"I'll try." Cubic nodded before typing furiously on his touch screen.

* * *

Kaito's eyes were wide as he stared at the clock beneath him. 235 had different meaning.

It wasn't the year that started on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Six in Greek couldn't be made on the clock.

It wasn't the fact of 235 being the second number of the tenth row of a skewed Fibonacci–Pascal triangle.

The number was the atonic number of an isotope called Uranium, but that wasn't the answer.

235 was the approximate number of lunar cycles in 19 solar years in ancient astrology.

Wait, no he was looking at this the wrong way.

Break down the number again.

235.

Wait… 2 + 3 = 5… no… 2 + 3 + 5 = 10.

"Ten is Iota!"

Kaito had only two minutes to go. Both of his hands pushed against the minute hand. It was taking all of Kaito's strength in his limbs to even move it. Slowly it budged, but he only had a minute left and he was at the 3.

"Dang it; why does thing have to be so heavy?!" He hissed through gritted teeth.

Thirty seconds.

Kaito was at the four.

Fifteen seconds.

The hand was at the five.

Five seconds.

Kaito pushed with all his strength, "GRaaaAAAAAAAAAHAH!"

*BOOM!*

The clock read six o'clock.

"BAKANA!" Hades roared out.

Kaito panted, trying his best to catch his breath. Sweat beaded down his face, dropping onto the clock as he swallowed. That was too close for comfort. "There's no puzzle… I can't solve…" Kaito panted. The shutters began opening one by one, the light of the sun piercing through the darkness.

That's when Nonoha and the others noticed Kaito, safe and sound, "KAITO!" They all shouted.

Said male turned as he watched his friends run up to him. Seeing Kurogasa with them, the male narrowed his eyes, but his face was softer than the norm. With a heavy sigh he scratched the back of his head.

"…Sorry…"

"Eh?" Kurogasa asked confused.

"I'm sorry with… how I treated you… I'll do a better one after I find the guy who did this!" Kaito began looking around once more, trying to find Hades within the cafeteria room.

"It's alright man. I know what you're going through." Kurogasa said.

"Huh?" Kaito asked, looking at him.

"I know what it's like to lose someone precious to you, so I don't blame you for acting the way you did…"

Kaito was silent. What could he say in this situation?

A piercing laugh echoed through the room.

"_Now_ I understand how you are the boy who defeated Orpheus!"

The Phi Brain children were on alert as they turned to see Hades stand a few feet in front of them, "Where did he come from?!" Gammon exclaimed.

"How should I know? He's like freakin Houdini!"

"The test was a success." Hades chuckled.

Kaito parroted, "A Test?" as the cloaked figure chuckled.

"Indeed. This was a test to see if you were the one that boy spoke of, the one that could defeat us."

"Boy…" Kaito pondered before he realized it. "You mean Rook?!"

"Heh, heh, heh… maybe," Hades chuckled.

"Where is he?!"

"Like I would tell ya," Hades scoffed. "All you need to know is we are taking good care of him~"

"Kono yarooooooo…" Kaito growled.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have other matters to attend to. So–"

*BANG!*

A bullet from out of nowhere pierced through Hades's head, shocking the Phi Brain children, and Kurogasa before he fell dead to the ground.

Kaito slowly turned his head. Standing in the area there the Phi Brain children sat for lunch, were four people all wearing the same purple cloaks. One of them removed the hood form his head. It was a tan looking man that appeared to be in his early twenties. Blonde hair spiked at the ends around his neck. Though his eyes were the cause of the children all developing chills. They were a dull gray, empty even.

"Who are you?!" Kaito demanded.

"I am Kaiser. I am the one who holds your friends life." His deep voice had an allure to it, a form of charisma that drew in the audience.

"Kaiser?" Kurogasa asked.

"That's right. I am the leader of this group here known as the Chords of Death."

Kurogasa gasped, "Chords of Death?!"

"Must you always parrot the words of another, or is that your true form, a parrot that copied the existence of others?"

Kurogasa gritted his teeth, "Nani!?"

"Why…" The voice of the only female in the group echoed softly, "Why did you kill him!?" The power behind her shouted words was enough to make a body tremble in fear, and yet those of the other side did nothing.

"He has served his purpose and outlived his usefulness." Kaiser said calmly.

"You have no right to decide that!" Kaito screamed at the killers.

"Just as you have no right to decide the future of humanity!" Kaiser's words struck a chord within the Phi Brain children.

"What are you talking about?!" Kaito exclaimed.

"You refused the Orpheus Armlet, an item that would change the mind of the human being, make them exceed their limitations, awaken to their full power. Originally, we wanted Humanity to change, to go beyond their limits, but, as the ages passed, we realized a crucial fact." Kaiser's eyes narrowed. "War and strife, they're a part of humanity. They're parts of us that will never change."

"What are you saying?" Ana was confused.

"If humanity refuses to change, then it is best to put humanity out of its misery." Kaiser's words were strong, without a hint of hesitation and doubt. The seriousness of his voice.

"You… You think humanity can't change so you decide to kill us all off?! That includes yourselves too!" Gammon declared, point at them accusingly.

"You naïve fool…" Kaiser said coldly. "You really don't get it do you…"

"What's there to get?!" Kaito asked. "The fact is you don't think humanity is worth it! So you decide to commit genocide because of a few mistakes?!"

"A few…" Kaiser's eyes narrowed. "You truly are ignorant of the world. Tell me, do you think it's fair that you're allowed your happy school lives, when those in mid Africa are treated as slaves and unable to be granted the same luxuries as you? Do you think it's fair that you can sit here and enjoy your food and beverages while the rest of the world ignores those who cannot have the same? Do you think it's fair you can live in peace when wars are being conducted?"

"It's still no excuse that you get to decide on who lives and who dies!" Kurogasa snapped.

"You think humanity can change?" Kaiser asked, his eyes narrowing one more. Stern, cold eyes that appear to have seen war to its fullest glared at the Phi Brain children. "You, of all people, should be able to see the cruelty that humanity can do."

"But those people changed, they wanted to get better!" Nonoha countered.

"Ever heard of the phrase: History repeats itself?" Kaiser retorted.

"But you don't know that! The future can _always_ be changed!" Cubic declared.

"It is _because_ the future is uncertain we cannot take risks. Soon the entire race will destroy themselves. Why wait for the end when we can usher it in now and protect the future from more pain and suffering?"

"By having you kill innocent people who have nothing to do this?!" Kurogasa shouted. "I don't think so!"

Kaiser closed his eyes. "So you fail to see reason. Very well then. Let this be known." Kaiser held out his hand, his composition changed drastically. "We will collect the score pieces, and you will help us."

"What?!" The group _asked._

"_Us_ help _you_?!" Kaito asked angrily. "Yeah sure, when the fat lady finally sings!"

"We will obtain the score pieces, and we will triumph in our ultimate goal. If humanity is unable to move past our trial, then it is best to kill them all."

"We won't let you!" Kaito pointed at Kaiser.

"You better keep Rook safe, because if I find one thing that is wrong with him, I'm gonna freakin beat your ass!" Gammon declared as he slammed his fist into his right hand.

"You're the group after Beethoven's Mad Melody correct?" Souji glared, stepping forward. "Don't expect to hold onto that piece. We'll find the other pieces long before you can."

"I, Ana, declare that you will not fulfill your wrong dream!"

"We'll all do whatever it takes to stop you!" Cubic followed up.

"And we'll save our friend!" Nonoha declared.

"Whatever you have planned for the Mad Melody won't happen! Once I get my hands on those pieces there burning for the rest of eternity!"

Kaiser scoffed. "Then, let us see who will decide humanity's ultimate fate." He then threw a smoke bomb in front of him, causing the smoke bomb to explode. Everyone coughed from the thickness of the smoke and when it cleared, the cloaked people and Kaiser were nowhere to be seen. Kaiser's voice echoed in the air as he said for his final words, _"Go ahead and try to defy the inevitable, because no matter what you do or how hard you try, you will never conquer Death."_

Cubic raised his see through computer as he tried to track the men down, but to no avail. They had disappeared completely to the point he couldn't even trace a heat signature.

"Dang it, we think it's all over and then _this_ crap happens…" Gammon growled. The others could understand his feelings on the matter. They had fought for so long, and now they had to deal with someone else.

"…Beethoven's Mad Melody…" Kaito's words drew in everyone's attention. They were soft, calm words that hid the anger that radiated though him. Brown eyes that looked at Kurogasa as a new comrade radiated anger.

"You know where the next score piece is?"

Kurogasa shook his head. "No. But I think I know where to find the clue."

"Where is it?"

"When Rook joined me on my journey, he told me about something that perked my interest. One of the places that Beethoven lived at was said to be under the POG at the time, a newly formed branch. That place is near Vienna, Austria."

"It's all the way over there?" Gammon asked incredulously.

"What did you expect, for all of them to be huddled nearby each other?" Kurogasa gave the red head an indiscriminatory look.

"In any case, we'll have to inform Principal Baron about this." Souji suggested.

"He said something about transferring a certain individual right? He should be in his office then!" Cubic recalled what the older man had stated once he left.

"Then let's get going!" Kaito sprinted off, the others following shortly, minus one person.

"Hey wait a minute I can't run!" Kurogasa cried out.

"Oh right…" Nonoha said before going back to him. "I'll help you walk back."

"Thanks, Nonoha–san." Kurogasa smiled up at the girl. Her cheeks flared up once more.

"I–It's no problem!" Nonoha stuttered.

"Ara, Nono–chan is blushing?" Ana smiled while making that observation startling the athlete.

"Huh? Me? Blushing? D–Don't be ridiculous!"

"As much fun as it is to tease her we don't have time I'm afraid." Souji's comment earned him a glare form the athlete but at the moment he didn't care. "Let us head to the Headmaster's room. Nonoha, carry Kurogasa would you?"

Nonoha gawked in disbelief, "WHA?!"

"Sorry but we are in a hurry and we need to tell Principal Baron."

Nonoha groaned as she knelt down to Kurogasa. Turning around she placed herself to the point of offering a piggy back ride. Kurogasa blinked. "Um… no offense but I am kinda heav– UAGH!" Nonoha didn't take no for an answer and easily lifted the boy onto her back.

"I am in clubs ranging from sports to martial arts, swam six hours to an island resort when there weren't any boats, I ran for most of my life in stupid puzzles that are meant to kill people! Lifting your body isn't much on that."

"Oh…" Kurogasa blinked. "Okay then… still… sorry to be a burden…"

"You're not a burden." Nonoha groaned as she followed the others back to the Headmaster's office.

* * *

Baron Kaidō's gaze was looking outside the thin glass panels. In his right hand, next to his ear was a phone. Nodding he spoke.

"Yes, we have confirmed it still exists. Time has refused to erase it, so it is up to humans to do so. Only a select few can play it, and Beethoven is sure to be on their list. I am requesting a transfer to Root Academy, along with the transfer of Kurogasa Kururugi."

He became silent as he nodded his head once more. Even though he knew the person on the line couldn't see it, he was so used to it, and it was a quirk he developed.

"Thank you. Then I will see you in three days." He then hung up the phone before looking at the scenery again. "Jin… I wish you were here now…"

The memory of his dear friend played out like a broken projector. The good times, the sad times, the worse times… each of it served to stir the heart of the former POG official.

* * *

It was to be the next hour that Baron finally had a clue on what occurred down below. He heard of the Fool's Puzzle Kaito was thrown into and how he solved it, along with the name of those responsible for Rook's abduction and the ones who possibly hold the first score piece.

To say upset was an understatement. He sat at his desk, mouth hidden by enclosed hands as he rested his head atop them. The Phi Brain children and those who belonged to the POG stood in silence. Tension hung in the air, a heavy sign of their reality.

"…Kurogasa…" Said boy lifted his head. Baron looked at him dead in the eyes.

"You know where the second piece is located correct?"

"A clue to where the second piece is. It might be a goose chase but it's the best I got so far."

"I see. And you say it's in Vienna Austria?"

"Yes sir." Kurogasa nodded.

"Very well, Kurogasa. I want you and the others to head to Austria to find the clues."

"So much for taking it easy…" Gammon commented while scratching the back of his head.

"I didn't mean now." Baron sighed. "I'm having another transfer come in who will help you. The students will be here in three days, so you can prepare until then."

"Who is it?" Cubic asked out of curiosity.

Baron remained silent. "This person… is possibly one of the very few candidates who can play Beethoven's Mad Melody."

"Wha– you're kidding?!" Kaito accused.

"I am not. It's rather fitting, and yet ironic, that this person's title is Beethoven."

"Wait… a title then…"

"Yes. This person was scouted to be a Phi Brain child, but that person did not want anything to do with the Orpheus Ring. This individual is… rather… unique… in a way. Not an enemy, but becoming a friend will be most difficult."

"Hmmmmm… I wonder what the person is like." Nonoha wondered.

"You'll know when you meet." Baron said before turning to Kurogasa. "Now then, Kurogasa, you need a place to spend the night at."

"W–Well I could book a hotel–"

"It would be better if you were nearby one of us." Souji interrupted the boy.

"But–"

"Souji is right. It's better safe than sorry." Baron agreed.

"Okay…" Brown eyes gazed across the room, looking at everyone.

"Not me." Cubic shook his hands. "My room is full of lab equipment and my inventions!"

"Ana will have to decline. My art studio will not be able to handle another."

"There is no way I'm letting another guy stay where my sister is."

"And I'm currently in a one room dorm at the University." Souji smiled sadly as he took another sip of his apple juice. Kurogasa then looked at Kaito and Nonoha.

"Sorry, my room's a mess." Kaito said.

"But there _is_ an extra in the dorm we live in!" Nonoha exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but that extra room is going to be used for the transferred student when they arrive." Baron said, "Which means…" He looked at Nonoha.

Nonoha blinked once, then twice, "WHAAAAAAAT!?"

Kaito and Baron shouted, "NAAAANIIII?!" in surprise at what the man was insinuating.

"Um…" Kurogasa blushed.

"I do apologize for this Nonoha but you are the only one with a spare room correct?"

"But–But–But–" Nonoha stuttered.

"This is only temporary until the transfer student arrives." Baron sighed. "So please, try your best to bear with it."

"Then he's going to bunk with the transfer student?" Nonoha asked.

"More than likely… I doubt Kurogasa will know that person even exists."

"Uh…" This caused mixed reactions. What was this student like?

"At any rate please allow him to stay with you for the next three nights."

"U–Um…" Nonoha stuttered, looking at Kurogasa who was still blushing, before finally she slump her shoulders saying, "Hai…"

Kurogasa looked at Kaito and Gammon and they looked pretty ticked off, scaring him a bit. He could only laugh nervously with a sweat drop.

* * *

Nonoha sighed. "Well, this is it. Nothing special, make yourself at home," The girl waved her hand. They arrived at the dorms ten minutes ago, but it took some time to shake off Gammon and Kaito because of the circumstances.

"I'm really sorry about this Nonoha–san." Kurogasa apologized.

"No, it's fine if it's just for a few days. I'm not blaming you or anything!" The girl shook her head as she waved her hands.

"Well… if you're sure. Then should I head into the extra room?"

"It's across from mine. I used to have a roommate but then she got transferred to another school."

"I see."

"Well, anyways, make yourself at home. I'll… cook us some dinner." She said, before heading over to the kitchen.

"Oh man… this is such a bad idea… what was Baron–san thinking…?" Kurogasa muttered as he treaded his way to the extra room. He knocked into the corner but didn't feel pain. Kurogasa looked at his right arm.

The Orpheus Ring… He couldn't recall how he got it. He was missing a crucial bit of information from his memory. "And what's with Baron–san, making me stay with Nonoha–san?" He wondered, as a blush crept on his face again. "I mean, I could've moved into the vacant dorm room, why did he make me wait for the new transfer student?" Opening the door to the empty room the boy sighed.

"First Rook's capture, the loss of the score piece, then finding myself with an Orpheus Ring, ugh… this is so not my day…" He recalled the events that followed one after another. Placing his bangs on the floor the black haired male sunk into the bed. Blue eyes stared out the nearby window. "…Ironic… The one time I actually wanted to come here, and I can't even enjoy it… Kaa–san, Dad…" His eyes narrowed as he pulled out a small locket. It looked like a pendant, but it was in the form of a puzzle.

Tweaking it a bit, he solved the small pendant puzzle and opened it up to reveal a picture of his parents. "I wish you two were here… Dad… Kaa–san…"

The door was pushed open, revealing Nonoha in an apron. She came in to tell him supper was ready, but the nostalgic and sad look on his face halted her progression. Her eyes portrayed a sympathetic look.

"Are you okay?" Nonoha asked.

Kurogasa flinched, immediately hiding the pendant back into his shirt. "Yeah, I'm good!" He placed on a fake smile, trying to reassure the girl.

"C'mon Kurogasa, don't try to hide it."

"No, no really I am fine. So, is dinner ready?" He tried switching the topic.

*GROWL!*

And luckily he stomach agreed with him. The one titled Morse began feeling light headed. When was the last time he ate?

"It is. But you're not eating anything until you tell me what's wrong." Nonoha said.

Kurogasa was trapped, "Nani?!"

Talk about something that left a bitter taste in his mouth, or go for a night without food?

"Really… uh… Nonoha… I really don't want to talk about it… just yet…"

"Oh… alright then, but don't keep it bottled up alright. If you ever want to talk, you got your new friend to help!" Nonoha slammed her fist on her chest.

"Eh? I have a new friend?"

"Duh, that's me!"

Kurogasa blinked dumbfounded before he smiled a bit, "Thanks…"

Nonoha matched his smile and stood up. "No need for thanks. Let's go eat before the food gets cold alright?"

"Got it," Kurogasa nodded as he followed the girl out of the bedroom.

* * *

**StarlightAT:** And thus the first Puzzle has been solved!

**Fenikkusumaru:** Yeah, it was fairly easy, but things are gonna get crazier and puzzles are gonna get harder!

**StarlightAT:** Augh… my poor brain is gonna break after all of this… Wait… maybe I CAN SOLVE PUZZLES JUST LIKE KAITO AND THEM! Hehehehe… I will never lose again… Hehehehe…

**Fenikkusumaru:** How about this? All of you readers out there, we need your help! We need you guys to make some good puzzles. Star and I can't make the puzzles alone!

**StarlightAT:** Well we could… but then the chapters will take forever to come out. And sadly I am lacking patience! XD

**Fenikkusumaru:** We'll get some help from them nonetheless. Besides, you don't know a lot of puzzles to begin with.

**StarlightAT:** Hey I am researching and trying some out online… when I really shouldn't be… my poor, poor laptop… T^T

**Fenikkusumaru:** Okay, but it really doesn't hurt to get some help from the readers does it?

**StarlightAT:** Nope not one bit, in fact, PLEASE HELP!

**Fenikkusumaru:** Yeah, that's what I thought. Well you heard her guys! We ask for your help to give us your puzzles for the Phi Brain children to solve. I would prefer you send us a PM to either of us and not in your review. I repeat in bold: Send your puzzles to either of us through PM and NOT in your reviews!

**StarlightAT:** What he said! It's easier to handle if it was PM's! If you send your ideas through review… we will not take them! DX

**Fenikkusumaru:** And besides, taking your idea through review would kinda look like we're spoiling the next chapter.

**StarlightAT:** Indeed! Alright that's about it I think for this segment! What do you say Fen?

**Fenikkusumaru:** Yep, until next time!

**Both:** Keep on solving puzzles!


	2. Open Your Eyes to the New Faiz

**Fenikkusumaru:** Hello FanFiction readers, what's going on?! Fenikkusumaru and StarlightAT here again, to give you another of Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God!

**StarlightAT:** We are beginning to dive into the story, jumping head first into the action and mystery!

**Fenikkusumaru:** That's right Star, and we're about to see our hero _become_ a hero!

**StarlightAT:** Finally one of the scenes I have been interested in writing will appear… well two actually. XD Ah we should probably say that this Faiz story will not be as dark at the original Faiz! I get to the first episode and I am crying for poor Yuuji… T^T But hey it will still be pretty dark just not as disturbing…

**Fenikkusumaru:** Yeah, so let's get to it. *Takes out Faiz Phone* you ready Star?

**StarlightAT:** Let's hit it! *Takes out Kaixa phone*

**5–5–5**

**9–1–3**

**STANDING BY**

**Both:** HENSHIN!

**COMPLETE**

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

It's been two days since Kurogasa had arrived at Root Academy and Kaito solving a Fool's Puzzle from one of the members of the Chords of Death. After all of that, Kurogasa was given a place to stay at for the time being which was at Nonoha's place. Of course, that idea was met with some resistance from Kaito and Gammon, but there was no other way around it.

The boy sighed heavily as he walked up the hill alongside the ponytailed student.

Nonoha herself look exasperated. Kaito and Gammon were behind the two, glaring daggers at Kurogasa's back, and yet Nonoha felt like those eyes were glaring at her as well.

"Just one more day… if we can put up with this for one more day…" Kurogasa muttered like a chant.

"I won't last longer for another 24 hours if they keep this up…" Her teeth grind together as Nonoha was on the verge of an explosion.

"That bastard… how dare he get close to Nonoha…," Gammon growled lowly.

"It's called Baron is a freakin moron." Kaito replied as they arrived at the gates to the school.

As the group of four entered the school grounds, only one felt like he was being watched. Kurogasa turned around. Gammon and Kaito walked past him, but he still felt like someone was spying on him. _'Am I losing it?'_ The boy thought. Shaking his head he entered the school grounds.

Unbeknownst to him, from behind a tree, there _was_ someone that was spying on him.

"I didn't think it was possible… but it happened. I hope… you may one day forgive me…"

* * *

**(Cue Theme Chu–Bura by Kelun)**

**(Instrumental) **At the start of the music, many forms of puzzle pieces fly up in the air, hovering in the air for a few seconds before the pieces suddenly came together to form cameo shots of Kaito, Nonoha, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, Kurogasa, and Hikari with their title names in the background. The puzzle pieces then scatter again to show a blue sky before the title Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God appears before it fades away and the camera suddenly moves down to show Root Academy.

**(O~naji~ dorama wo nandamo miteru)** Kaito, Gammon, and Kurogasa walk up the hill towards the school, with Gammon driving on his bike after them.  
**(Kyou~ mo naa~, sonna ki ga shiteta zutto)** Gammon speeds past them, making Kaito spin around a bit before the latter gets angry and chases after him, making Nonoha sweat drop while Kurogasa smiled with amusement.  
**(Ki~mi ga~ waratte kureta shunkan ni)** Ana sat on a nearby bench at the entrance of the school painting as Cubic drove next to him on his robot, waiting for the others to arrive.  
**(A~tara~shii sutori ga hajimatta) **The scene then changes to Souji and Baron who looked outside the window as they talked before Baron turns around to his desk looking at a file showing a picture of Hikari.

**(Chuburarin na aseta hibi ga) **The score pieces of Beethoven's Mad Melody fly into the palms of Kaiser and the Chords of Death. A silhouette of the Orpheus Armlet shines within the pieces.  
**(Iruzuiteiku no ga waka~ttan da)** The camera then pans forward fast as if going through a space warp into the Orpheus Armlet silhouette until it slowly stops to Hikari in a black void, specifically to her eyes and opens them, revealing that her eyes were shining golden.

**(Saa~, ma~bu~ta o a~ke~te) **The Phi Brain children, Nonoha and Kurogasa stand across a large chessboard, the other side holding Kaiser and the Chords of Death, each wearing an Orpheus Armlet.  
**(Kodoku ni surigaeteta) **The scene switches to Freecell and the Orpheus Order, rushing up a flight of stairs, with those of the POG in an office typing on laptops. A shadow of a captured Rook spurs them on.  
**(Na~ku~shi~te~ta yuu~ki~ wo)** Kurogasa and Nonoha stand back to back. When Kurogasa turns around, Nonoha disappears, replacing her with Kaiser as he held out his hand. Kurogasa's eyes narrowed, activating the Faiz belt and transforms into Kamen Rider Faiz.  
**(Kono te ni kakegeyo)** Kaito runs towards Hikari playing the piano, only for the image to shatter, forcing him into a maze puzzle. After recovering from the shock, his right eye reflects the universe within himself.

**(Ko~ra~e~te~tta na~mi~da)** The camera hovers overheard showing all the cloaked members of the Chords of Death including Kaiser going face–to–face against Kaito, Kurogasa, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, and Hikari as they were in a Puzzle of God that involves all of them.  
**(Ima omoidashita kara) **The ghost of Jin materializes and Raëtsel, Elena, Souji, and Baron appear one by one as the POG symbol illuminates behind them, ready to support the Phi Brain children before the score pieces, burst into flames to change to another scene.

**(Ki~mi~ no~ te~ wo ni~gi~tte) **In the rain, Kurogasa sits with his back to a wall curled up looking down sadly before a hand extends to Kurogasa making him look up to see Nonoha in front of him, smiling.  
Kurogasa smiles back before taking Nonoha's hand and at that point, the sun comes out and the rains stops.  
**(Monogatari wa hajimaru) **Kaito, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, and Hikari all run up to him, each smiling as they prepare to confront their new Friend.

* * *

Chapter 2: Open Your Eyes to the New Faiz

The cafeteria was buzzing as usual, the students of Root Gakuen rummaging around as they gathered food. In their usual spot, the Phi Brain children were discussing the events of yesterday. Due to Kurogasa's transfer, he was allowed to stay with those that possessed titles in the special place that was reserved for them.

"You know, I knew this school was a bit… eccentric about those with titles, but I never knew it to be this bad." Kurogasa was allowed to wear his usual outfit, allowed to eat whatever's on the menu, whether expensive or not, and several more school rules were bent due to his title of Morse. "I kinda feel guilty about this…"

"Trust me you're not the only one." Nonoha said as she looked at Kaito and Gammon, were eating away at all the food. There were many stacks of empty bowls and the two boys eating were still going at it and surprisingly, their stomachs didn't get bigger from all the food they're eating.

"I want seconds!" Both exclaimed at the same time.

"You had seconds ten minutes ago!" Nonoha exclaimed. Ana was giggling while Cubic was typing away at the holographic screen he brought with him.

"What are you doing Q–chan?" Ana asked him.

"I was hoping to look through the schools cameras to see if they found where the Chords of Death came from, but I can't seem to find them anywhere." Edison sighed heavily as he placed the screen down.

"So Kurogasa," Kaito spoke with his mouth full of food. Swallowing the boy continued. "What do you know about these score pieces?"

"Uh well… not much… other than the history of the music," Kurogasa said.

"Ana still can't believe one of the greatest composures of history could create such a sad piece…" The long haired male replied with a tint of sadness in his voice.

"Given what Beethoven's been through, you can't blame him from jumping off the slope." Gammon relied as he continued to eat.

"Still, why would he want to make that kind of music in the first place? It doesn't make any sense." Nonoha pondered.

"We can't find out anything unless we track down those pieces. So there are three sets of sheets right?" Kaito asked, to which Kurogasa nodded.

"Yeah, my theory is that the clue leading to the next piece is inside one of his old homes in Vienna, Austria. The problem is I don't know which one…"

"Why do you say that? Didn't he live in one place?" Nonoha asked.

"He lived in over sixty places during his stay in Vienna." Kurogasa's blunt remark was met with a whine from Nonoha.

"That's gonna take forever to look through sixty houses…" Nonoha groaned.

"That's why I am hoping the one that was owned by the POG at the time contains the clue."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Well, then I am out of leads unless we can talk to Beethoven himself."

"Are you talking about the dead guy or the transfer student?"

"Latter." Kurogasa replied to Gammon.

"Speaking of the transfer student, any word from Headmaster Baron?" Nonoha asked.

Cubic shook his head. "We haven't heard much from him for the past two days."

"Think he knows something about what's going on maybe?" Gammon's words were met with silence. The chances were high that he was hiding something, but he was always secretive to begin with and sometimes that part of him is what saved them.

"I wonder why Baron–san is worried about the transfer student…" The one bearing the title Da Vinci spoke.

"Who knows?" Kaito shrugged. "But whatever reasons they are other than the fact that they're one of the few people that can play Beethoven's Mad Melody, they better be good reasons."

"I don't know…" Kurogasa doubted.

"There you are. All of you are here as usual." A new voice said.

Kurogasa turned to the right. What he saw was a teen girl with long, bright pink hair walking up the steps. Her magenta eyes held a tint of knowledge to them, as if knowing that the one possessing titles would be there. She wore the school's uniform but the shirt she wore was different, being a while, sailor shirt with a red ribbon.

Blue eyes blinked once, then twice. On the third he finally said something. "Oh hey you're Antoinette right?"

The Phi Brain children looked shocked, "HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH?!"

"Y–You know her?!" Gammon snapped.

"I think the question should be who doesn't? The POG sponsored her after all so of course I would know. Plus I've seen her on TV." Kurogasa was a bit surprised everyone even asked him that.

"Hmm…?" Antoinette or rather Elena Himekawa said looking at him. "And who might you be?"

"O–Oh, I'm Kurogasa Kururugi." he introduced. "I'm the one that bears the title of Morse."

"Morse? Oh yes I recall hearing about someone in the POG with that title." Elena's eyes widened in realization, "So, what's got everyone down this time around?"

"Uh well… that's a long story." Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

Elena raised an eyebrow. A long story usually meant something big happened, and if something big happened it either had to do with the Orpheus ring, a Fool's Puzzle, or something else occurred, like them being attacked by a new group.

Sighing in defeat the girl muttered. "So, who attacked you all _this_ time?"

"They call themselves, the Chords of Death." Kurogasa said.

"And they captured Rook too." Kaito muttered.

"What?" Elena gasped.

"Not only that, I got this." Kurogasa added, rolling up his sleeve to reveal an Orpheus Armlet.

"Wha, wha, what–" Speechless was an understatement. She was given a rundown, and she still couldn't understand. Eyes wide and mouth agape, she slammed her hands onto the table in front of Gammon. "Tell me everything this instant!"

"H–Hey, why are you asking _me_? You should be asking _him_!" Gammon shouted, pointing at Kurogasa.

Her gaze instantly switched to Kurogasa. The boy gulped. The weight of that stare was worse than Kaito's and Gammon's form the morning. Sighing heavily Kurogasa relented to his fate.

* * *

Elena was shocked. Her mind went into overdrive a few moments ago, but had shut down. She was still trying to wrap her head around everything. But there was one fact she was able to decipher.

"So… it _does_ exist… the Score of Hysteria… I thought it was a myth the POG created…"

"That's what Headmaster Baron thought too, but with me discovering the first piece of the score, it's not a myth anymore…" Kurogasa sighed.

The newcomer slumped in her seat. A heavy sigh broke through to the outside. "Honestly… when one problem ends another arises. Shall I take it then Beethoven will be coming here too?" She asked with arms folded.

"Wait do you know them?"

"…There is a difference between knowing and meeting them once before. _Of_ course," The female scratched her cheek.

"Please tell me we're not getting a jerk." Nonoha groaned.

"No, no. Not a jerk but… let me put it this way. The first time I met them… that person was with family. The second time I met them… that person ran away from me…"

"Huh?" Everyone asked confused.

Elena sighed. "Changing the topic, do you know where the other pieces are?"

"Like I told them several times, I only have a clue, and I am hoping said clue is at that place." Kurogasa groaned. How many times did he have to explain that bit already? "Man, all this explaining is making me hungry." He groaned a bit, hearing his stomach growl.

"Why didn't you get food earlier?" Kaito asked.

"Because two hogs were eating it all and kept ordering so the rest of us couldn't." Nonoha growled.

Kaito and Gammon flinched. Nonoha had a point. Everyone was lightly glaring at them, the two perpetrators who robbed the Phi Brain children of food.

"Sorry…"

"Mattaku…" Nonoha sighed.

"Well I'm not waiting any longer!" Elena declared as she began looking at the menu.

* * *

Inside the darkness of the night, the Chords of Death gathered on a vacant street. Three members were present, covered in their cloaks. The final member appeared from the shadows. Taking off his hood, the figured was revealed to be Kaiser.

"Where is it?"

"Our little 'friend' is ready." One of the cloaked members said.

Kaiser's face broke out into a grin. "Excellent. Show me."

The clocked figure snapped their fingers.

At that point, in the middle of the four, a blue flame appeared and it turned to a tall blue flame rose to about 6 feet as it burned and glowed fiercely. Kaiser's eyes widened. "Subarashii…" He walked forward, admiring the being as if it were a god. "I have a mission set especially for you…"

_**"What is thy command?"**_ A voice asked in the blue flame.

"There is a certain individual I want you to target. I am… most curious of his existence. Also, you will do this after the development of the Fool's Puzzle. I need to see if the one who bears the blood of the composure is the one we need to activate the score." Kaiser spoke in an alluring voice.

_**"Yes master…"**_ The voice in the flame said. _**"Your will be done."**_

The eyes of the dark skinned young man narrowed. "That's what I wanted to hear."

* * *

Finally, it was finally the third day. Kurogasa felt relieved as well as Nonoha. Kaito and Gammon were not glaring at their backs, not giving them dirty looks, but were calm and appreciative. While Nonoha would be curious about the behavior, her mind was on the clouds above the school.

"Oh man, I should've brought the umbrella…"

"We better get to the dorm before it rains." Kurogasa suggested.

"I better get going. I need to buy some groceries for Miharu." Gammon muttered as he ran past them.

Kurogasa tilted his head, "Miharu?"

"Gammon's little sister." Kaito answered as he walked beside Kurogasa. "Other than that how's school going for you?"

"It's going well." Kurogasa answered. "My memory's still kinda hazy, but I'm doing alright for the most part."

Nonoha smiled. Even if she didn't know Kurogasa for long, she felt happy that he was adapting easily. Thinking about it, Nonoha developed a question she had been meaning to ask for a while.

"Hey Kurogasa, what school did you go to before this?"

"Hmmmmmmmm…" Kurogasa said thinking about it. "Since my parents were in the POG, I was tutored by them."

Nonoha blinked. "Wait… you never went to school before?"

"Only for a bit, but I got pulled out because we had to move…" Kurogasa scratched the back of his head. Kaito raised an eyebrow to this.

"How long, in your entire life, have you been at a school?"

"Uh… let's see… counting yesterday and today… a week."

Kaito and Nonoha fell down anime style.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Both of their screams in perfect unison caused Kurogasa to fall down himself. Blinking rapidly the male raised his hands.

"It's the truth. We just kept on moving and stuff. Even if I _could_ get into a school I would have to leave within a few weeks or so."

"What were your parents doing all this time that it forced them to move?" Kaito spoke on reflex. Even so, the question pierced Kurogasa's heart. Why did they have to move so much?

"I… don't know…" Nonoha and Kaito blinked before looking at one another.

*BOOM!*

Nonoha covered her ears on reflex. "Okay back to the dorms we–"

"Kaito, Nonoha, Kurogasa!" The three turned around to see Cubic on his robot rolling down the hill.

"What's wrong Q–chan?" Nonoha asked.

"Something's wrong with the school's electricity. I need help to fix it so can I count on you guys?"

Nonoha exclaimed, "With this storm coming?!"

"C'mon you guys! I really need your help!" Cubic pleaded. The three looked at one another. Even so all three of them had smiles on their faces.

"Alright Cubic, what do you need us to do?" Kaito asked.

The smile on Edison's face couldn't get any wider as he motioned for the three to follow him. "I need several places to be activated before the storm hits! Let's go!"

"Okay, we're right behind ya!" Kurogasa said before the three followed Cubic.

"I have special communicators for the three of you!" He handed one to Nonoha, Kaito and Kurogasa as they ran back to the school. "Nonoha, you will be in the cafeteria, stand by the power box that's behind the kitchen. Kurogasa, I need you to head off to the third floor hallways, find the switches in the computer lab, and Kaito, head to the second building."

"What about you Cubic?" Kurogasa asked.

"I'm heading to the main generator and restart the power there." Cubic nodded. "Once you're at your destination, we have to turn on the switches all the same time or it won't work."

"Alright then I'm heading off!" Nonoha released a battle cry as she outran the humans and robot. Kurogasa felt his jaw drop.

"How the heck can anyone run that fast!?"

"I have no clue." Kaito sighed before saying, "I'm heading off to the second building. I'll see ya later." Kaito then ran off.

Kurogasa nodded as he turned to Cubic. "It's the third floor in the computer lab right?"

"You got it!" Cubic's answer followed with Kurogasa running past him towards the school's building. "And I have to head to the main generator." Cubic said before he used the controls and moved his robot to another direction.

Unbeknownst to them all, an inhumanly like figure watched from the shadows as rain started to finally pour down.

* * *

Nonoha burst through the cafeteria doors, barely missing the rain as it began pouring outside. Large raindrops slammed against the windows as she began running towards the back. Reaching the cafeteria she jumped over the counter and opened the door to the back.

"Wait a minute, why was the door unlocked to begin with?!"

The girl shook her head and began searching for the power box. Her eyes scanned the rather large cooking area. The girl groaned as she narrowed her eyes. Looking forward she found her target. A gray box sat on the wall.

"Bingo!"

She got to the gray box, however… it was locked. The worst part… she has to solve a puzzle in order to unlock the lock.

Nanoha growled, "What– WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!" Looking at it she noticed that the puzzle on the electronic lock was a simple Magic Square puzzle.

"O… Okay so I need to have them line up to reach the same number diagonally, vertically and horizontally right?" Nonoha recalled the puzzle's intention and looked around. She can't solve it if she didn't know the number that it had to equal. Even if it was three by three squares she couldn't do anything without the number.

The girl looked around the kitchen, but besides the pots and pans she would knock over and not even bother picking it up, she couldn't find a number.

"Gaaaaah, Come on this is important!" The girl gripped her hair, shaking her head left and right.

[_"Nonoha…"_]

"Eh?" The girl blinked three times. "Whose there?"

[_"Nonoha, are you there? It's me Cubic!"_]

"Q–chan, is that you?" Nonoha asked. She then remembered the communicator she had and took it right out of her pocket her skirt had.

[_"Yeah, it's me. Did you find the first power box?"_]

"I did, but it's electronically locked by a puzzle." Nonoha grumbled. "I have to solve a Magic Square Puzzle in order to unlock it."

[_"I know that that's–"_]

"If you knew why didn't you tell me?!" Nonoha screamed into the small earpiece mic.

[_"Ouch, go easy with the yelling!"_] Cubic said. [_"You want me to tell you the Magic Number or not?!"_]

"Ahh… sorry Q–Chan…" Nonoha scratched the back of her head. "I'm really sorry, so what's the mystery answer?"

[_"It's nine."_] Cubic answered.

"How do you know that?" Nonoha asked, with her eyes wide as she looked back at the Magic Square puzzle on the box.

[_"Because the Cafeteria area code is 009; so you know how to work the puzzle?"_]

Nonoha felt stupid. She should've known that the area code to the cafeteria is 009. After face palming she said, "Yeah, I got it…"

Walking back over to the box, she began thinking. The answer appeared in her mind with ease. Placing the numbers in, the case beeped. The case unlocked, opening the power box, revealing a rather intricate design for the electrical box, and yet the switch was there in plain sight.

[_"Alright Nonoha, flip the switch off."_]

The ponytailed girl did as she was told, placing her right index finger on the red switch and pushing it down.

[_"Now we gotta wait for Kaito and Kurogasa."_]

* * *

Kaito panted, as his palms on his bent knees. He had finally reached the second building main office. "Alright, now I need to find the power box to this building." Kaito said, looking around. "Where is it?" He wondered.

[_"Hey Kaito, are you there?"_] Cubic's voice rang through his communicator.

Kaito checked to see if the communicator was fully in his ear on reflex, "Yeah."

[_"Nonoha just finished the puzzle, it was a Magic Square!"_]

"What? Nonoha solved a puzzle by herself?" Kaito felt like laughing. She must have been aggravated like crazy and back about the puzzle.

[_"Yeah, I can't believe it either."_] Cubic said. [_"Anyways, where are you now?"_]

"I'm in the main office of the second building. Where am I, supposed to go?"]

[_"Go to the Boiler Room. There should be a small gray power box there at a corner of the room."_]

Brown eyes gazed about, hands wrapped around the door handle. Pushing the door open, the boy was welcomed by heat.

"Dang it's hot!"

[_"Never mind the heat! Do you see the power box?"_]

Kaito groaned and began walking through the area. What he found ironic was that he was in the janitor's closet and not the room itself. Grumbling he wrapped his hands around the second door that laid ten meters ahead of the entrance to the closet.

"Seriously who builds a school where the boiler room is behind a janitor's closet?"

When he opened the door, he saw the gray power box, "Mitsuketa!"

[_"Alright, solve the puzzle and get ready, I'm going to check up on Kurogasa!"_] With those words Kaito heard the static hang up of a phone. His line to Cubic was dead, but he knew it wouldn't be for long. Kaito smiled as he observed the puzzle.

It was a sliding puzzle, and yet he knew what the picture was. It was the area code number for the room 23.

"Heh, this is easy." Kaito smirked, "Pazaru Taimu no… hajimari da!"

* * *

Kurogasa panted in a paced beated. He had arrived at the third floor of the school. Looking around he sought the third floor computer lab. "Hey Cubic, do you read me? I'm at the computer lab." Kurogasa said, touching his communicator.

[_"Yep, go to the gray box by the window okay?"_] The boy spoke as Kurogasa nodded. Desks containing computers littered the room, but his eyes fell upon a familiar object on the wall next to a screen projector. The windows were adjacent to the object.

"I found it." Kurogasa smirked. But just when he was about to move, for some reason he felt like something was behind him. He turned around quickly, but no one was there. Kurogasa scanned the areas by the door, but saw nothing. Was he paranoid because of what happened?

[_"Kurogasa,"_] Cubic's voice screamed form the mic as the blue eyed boy flinched.

"W–What is it?!" Kurogasa panicked a bit.

[_"Can't you hear me?! I said to solve the puzzle and flip the switch. Once I finish with the necessary repairs, all of us need to flip the switches at the same time and the power will return!"_]

"R–Right, ok," Kurogasa said, before he went over to the power box, seeing the electronic lock. Kurogasa scanned the lock. What he saw were two phrases of jumbled words.

KSR YIZRM

The boy smirked. It was a decryption? It was like this one was made especially for him, "Okay then, Code Decryption… start!"

* * *

Baron sat in his office. He was preparing to leave until the lights went out. Sadly this had an effect on the work he was doing concerning the latest information on the Score of Hysteria. The annoyed expression on his face said it all. This was not going to be easy to accomplish.

"Why did they make their move now…" Baron muttered. "How is it they knew the score pieces were at the areas Rook and Kurogasa explored?"

"Perhaps I can help." A voice said.

Baron's eyes widened. Quickly he raised his head. Standing in front of him was a man he never seen before. Even so the storm did nothing but create a shadow to hide him. "Who are you?" His voice was soft but the power behind it was stronger than a yell.

"An ally… or… that is what I would like to call myself."

"What do you mean?" Baron asked suspiciously.

"There is no time. Kurogasa's life is in danger."

"What?" Baron's eyes widened. "How… who… what do you know about him?"

"The transfer student will be attacked tomorrow. Kurogasa will need to defend them."

"How can I possibly believe you?"

"I know it is difficult… but," The male stepped out of the shadows. He appeared to be in his early twenties. Light brown hair sat at neck length yet the bangs were parted to reveal his forehead. Even in the darkness Baron could tell he wore a black trench coat that was sealed tight, black gloves on both hands yet both were grasping items. One appeared to be a belt, the other a rectangular object.

Slowly he walked up to Baron's desk. Lightning pierced the darkness for a few seconds, and Baron saw the entirety of the man. His eyes, they held a tint of sadness, his face tense and yet determined to go through with something.

The mysterious individual placed a suitcase on the headmaster's desk. Baron never once removed eye contact form the man. If he was a threat he would have to act fast, and yet, he felt something off about this particular man.

No one could have such sadness in their eyes.

"Right now, these are the things he needs if Kurogasa is to survive. You must get it to him."

Baron narrowed his eyes. There must be something that man knew that he didn't.

"Tell me, why are you insistent on helping him?"

"…Atonement… He hasn't realized it himself, but he will once he activates this. Please… treat him as the human that he is…"

"Huh?" Baron asked confused.

"Right now, his memory is still hazy. Most likely he will not know why he will become what he is when he activates this. He will have to discover it for himself."

"You speak as if something terrible will happen."

"Once it does, his friends will be his guiding post. Please… believe me…"

Baron stared at him for a while before saying, "Very well… I will trust you… for now…"

* * *

"Code cracked." Kurogasa said smugly.

It took him little to no time at all. The letters represented the corresponding letter of the alphabet reversed. In that respect, what was KSR YIZRM was actually…

"PHI BRAIN," Typing the code in, the box unlocked with a beep. The switch revealed itself, to which Kurogasa flipped it off. With a smile of victory on his face the boy tapped his communicator.

"Hey Cubic, my side's done."

[_"Then all we need is Kaito and me to finish. Thanks Kurogasa!"_]

"No prob– WHOA," Kurogasa shouted as he suddenly dodged to the side when someone or rather some_thing_ tried to injure him.

[_"Kurogasa, are you okay!?"_]

"…Uh… Cubic…"

[_"Yeah, what is it?"_]

"Uh… I think I might be losing it– NOPE NOT LOSING IT!" Kurogasa quickly dodged another assault of a whip and ran out of the room.

[_"Kurogasa what's going on?!"_]

"I'm being attacked!"

[_"What? Is it the Chords of Death?!"_] Cubic panicked.

"I don't think so, but it's trying to kill me!" Kurogasa shouted.

Narrowly avoiding another tendril slash, the boy rounded the corner. He had to put as much distance as he could between him and… whatever was after him!

He could feel it behind him, keep up with him, nearly touching his heels. Cold sweat ran down his back. He never felt this scared before. He felt like a deer being chased by an experienced hunter. What was after him?!

He dare not look back. If he did, he knew that would be the end. He couldn't die right now!

Another slash narrowly missed him.

"Cubic, help me out here!" Kurogasa panicked.

[_"O–Okay, I got your location! Run up the stairs and try to find a room to hide in!"_]

"That's it?!"

[_"If I don't know what's chasing you how can I help? I got a camera activated in the fourth floor! Just pick a room and hide!"_]

"Ugh… fine…" Kurogasa groaned.

He forced his legs to run faster, reaching the doors that would lead him to the stair case. Passing through the opened hallway, he quickly ran up the steps. Gravity took effect and slowed his pace, the tendrils form before nearly catching him. Fear became an extra boost in speed, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he made it to the fourth floor.

A room, he had to find a room fast.

Better yet, there was the elevator. Kurogasa changed his plans. If he was going to survive that would be his only hope. The boy pressed the down button over and over again. He could hear whatever was coming after up climbing up the steps.

Come on! Open up already!

*DING!*

The elevator doors opened and Kurogasa ran inside. Once he did, it began its descent. Sweat rolled off his face. Kurogasa fell back onto the wall. Hopefully _it_ didn't see him.

"Cubic!" Kurogasa panted, coughing a few times.

[_"You okay!? What room are you in?!"_]

"Elevator… Sorry but i wasn't taking chances. I felt like if I stayed in a room that thing would've found and killed me."

[_"R–Right… alright I'm activating the cameras, I'll record everything that happened."_]

"By the way… Cubic?"

["Yes?"]

"Why is the power on?"

[_"…Uh… Ahaha… I kinda made a mistake… turns out we only needed three switches… and since I was at the main one and you were running… I told Nonoha and Kaito flip them… and the power kicked on… sorry…"_]

Kurogasa groaned.

"YOU MADE ME FLIP THE SWITCH FOR NO REASON?!"

[_"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I don't know how but part of the building's power came back on! I'm not sure how but it did when you told me about something chasing you! It was around the Headmaster's office! I'm really sorry!"_] Cubic panicked, he was trying to apologize and explain what happened at the same time.

Kurogasa blinked at that, "The… Headmaster's Office…?"

[_"Y–Yeah…?"_] A startled voice trembled on the other line.

"Why there…" Kurogasa muttered, but the communicator was still able to pick it up.

[_"I don't– hey I got the feed!"_]

"You did?"

[_"Yeah I'm watching it right now!"_]

The elevator came to a halt as the doors opened, revealing the main floor that was both the entrance and exit of the school. Nonoha was sitting on a bench, her hands holding her face.

"Nonoha–san!" Kurogasa shouted, running towards her.

Said girl turned to him with a questioning gaze.

"Kurogasa!" Nonoha gasped, "Hey are you okay!?"

"I'll explain later. Where's Kaito–"

"Over here!" The two looked at Kaito who was running towards them. "Hey Cubic told us you were attacked!"

"Yeah, I was. I don't know what it was that attacked me though."

"Is it still in the building?!" Nonoha freaked. She began looking left and right.

"I don't–"

Static echoed in their ears.

[_"No… it's gone…"_]

"Huh? What do you _mean_ gone?!" Kaito asked incredulously.

[_"It left the fourth floor and escaped from the windows…"_]

"But then that would mean it could jump down here!" Nonoha freaked out again.

[_"It didn't. It Left the school grounds…_"]

Nonoha sighed in relief. "Well… that's one good thing…"

[_"I… don't know…"_]

"What's wrong Q?" Kaito placed his hand by the communicator in his right ear.

[_"I don't… know what chased after Kurogasa…"_]

"What do you mean?"

[_"It's… the only thing I can tell you… is that it wasn't a Chord of Death member… but… I don't think it was human also…"_]

Cold sweat began running down everyone's back, combined with chills that sent their minds on high alert.

"W–What do you think it is?" Nonoha stuttered.

[_"I don't know, but I'll talk with Headmaster Baron about this."_]

Tensions were high, it was the basic observation anyone would make in this situation. Fear gripped at everyone's hearts. Something Cubic couldn't identify attacked Kurogasa?

"Cubic, where are you?"

[_"I'm heading to the main floors."_]

"We're gonna leave, all of us. If that thing comes back…" Kaito bit his lip.

"Yeah, let's get out of here now!" Nonoha squeaked.

"I'm with you on that." Kurogasa nodded before all three of them left the building.

* * *

The sun rose on the third day since Kurogasa's arrival. Kaito, Nonoha and Kurogasa still felt the weight of yesterday's adventure, though Kurogasa felt the brunt end of it. His face was slightly pale as fear still had a hold on him. They told the others about yesterday, and when they pestered Cubic for the footage, he shook his head. He wouldn't reveal it till everyone was together and with the headmaster. The normal shine in his eyes were dull, as if he was sick.

The day was a long, torturous one. But finally it came to an end. Classes were over and the Phi Brain children walked towards the Baron's office. One by one they entered the large room. Souji and Elena were already inside.

However, it was their faces that broke the tension surrounding the curious group of teenagers.

Elena looked like she had a face of expectancy, but Souji looked like he just seen one of the wonders of the world.

"Okay… What's up?" Kaito raised an eyebrow as Baron sighed heavily.

"Nothing… just, something I should have expected."

"What do you mean?" Kurogasa asked.

"Beethoven was in here earlier but… well… she ran away once saw caught sight of Jikukawa…"

"Beethoven… ran away?" Nonoha blinked.

"Yes she really did…" Apparently stuck was stuck between laughter and shock. Even so a slight chuckle escaped him. "Honestly… that girl hasn't changed."

"Wait… girl?!" Kurogasa's eyes widened.

"Of course, Beethoven is a woman." Baron's blunt answer was all it took for the events of last night to vanish over their heads. "Ah… I didn't say she was did I?"

"YOU MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT!" Kaito, Kurogasa, Nonoha, Gammon, and Cubic shouted as for some reason their heads got really big towering over Baron and the latter somehow became a chibi version.

Baron chuckled. Their reactions were something he knew would occur given the information he revealed. "Well now you know. The problem is that she ran away and she has never been here. I can assume she is lost."

"Huh… we might as well look for her." Kurogasa sighed.

"She has blonde hair, a little shorter than Elena's so it shouldn't be too difficult to track her down." Souji began drinking his apple juice once more. "I'll join you in a bit."

"I'll go ahead and help find her." Elena offered her assistance.

"Alright, then we will–"

"I'm going to stay here. I need to show the Headmaster something!" Cubic's declaration was both a shock and surprise for both parties. Kurogasa though knew what he was referring too.

"Wakatta, we'll pick up the slack." Kaito nodded his head. He had a theory as to why Cubic wanted to remain behind and left the room, being the first to spring down the hallways to find the mysterious Beethoven.

"Hey, wait up!" Gammon shouted before he and the rest of them ran off. Once they were out, Cubic turned to the headmaster with a serious expression on his face.

"Sir, there is something I want you to see."

"Is it the monster from yesterday?"

Cubic gasped, "How did you–"

"A stranger came and warned me about the prospect of Kurogasa being attacked." Baron narrowed his eyes. Despite the suspicious attitude of the person, he was correct in knowing the boy would be assaulted.

"Cubic, I showed him the recording this morning." Souji gave the boy a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, it couldn't wait."

The blond haired boy merely shook his head. "I don't blame you Jikukawa–sempai."

"But what are we actually dealing with here?" Souji asked Baron.

The headmaster turned to the window. This was going to be a long explanation as he recalled yesterday's events.

* * *

Gammon walked down the halls with Elena by his side. His body slumped. He would've rather been paired with Nonoha than her, but he couldn't complain as Nonoha never gave him room for argument, having sped off towards the club rooms.

"Che… why does this have to be such a pain…?" Gammon muttered.

"Did you say something?" Elena asked.

"As a matter of fact I did. Why the heck do we have to go around the school looking for that girl?" Gammon grumbled.

"It's because she's important and essential in playing the Mad Melody. If she gets captured and all the pieces are recovered then we are in trouble and have to deal with more than 4 billion people falling into madness!" Elena snapped at the boy. She was already tense to begin with and she didn't need the red head moron to twist her even further.

Gammon flinched at that.

"Furthermore, can you honestly say you would abandon a girl in a place she has no clue where she is or how to get out?" Elena smirked. She knew his weakness, and if she was correct…

"…No…"

"That's what I thought." Elena smirked wider.

"Dang it, don't you have a clue to where she might be?!"

Elena narrowed her eyes. Why would he ask such a simple question? "If you think about it you would know."

"Che…" Gammon scoffed, looking away.

* * *

Nonoha raced around the tracks, talking with one person after another. She stopped groups, people working around it, all asking the same question.

"Did any of you see a blond haired foreigner?!"

Her upfront and blunt question was met with stuttered responses or frightened looks. It didn't help that she looked to be extremely aggravated. Kurogasa felt bad for the people she was assaulting, and for the fact he couldn't stop her or calm her down.

"Nonoha you have to calm down!" He screamed as the girl pressed on. The ponytailed girl turned around and began screaming form twenty meters ahead.

"We can't! Beethoven is lost on the school grounds and we still don't know what attacked you yesterday! What if they had a connection to the Chords of Death?"

"THAT'S A NEED TO KNOW BASIS!" Kurogasa screamed at equal volume, trying to drown out her words so no one could understand what she was saying.

Nonoha looked stunned at that before laughing sheepishly, "Oh, right… heh, heh. Sorry…"

"Mattaku…" Kurogasa finally caught up to the girl, panting lightly. "Well I guess I should ask. Has anyone seen her?"

Nonoha shook her head. "Nope… No one… It would be nice if we had more to go on besides hair color…" Nonoha crossed her arms. A thought came to her, causing her to widen her eyes. "Hey do you think Headmaster Baron is playing a game with us?"

"I don't think in this situation he would…" Kurogasa muttered.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Nonoha sighed.

"KYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nonoha and Kurogasa both immediately started running towards the scream.

* * *

Kaito walked around the school, hands in his pockets with an aggravated look on his face. He couldn't find the girl, and he lost Ana. The painter vanished behind him and he couldn't find him.

A heavy groan of annoyance echoed in the hallways of the club rooms.

"Try and find one girl and I lose a dude who looks like one…" The boy continued to grumble.

Then he heard it. A melody playing… Kaito's eyes widened. Could it possibly be? Her name was Beethoven right? Why didn't he think of this before?

Kaito broke out into a sprint, running towards the sound of the music. He rounded the corner of the hallway. The music grew louder in his ears. He was drawing closer. He stopped in front of the music room door.

"She has to be in here…" Placing his hand on the handle, the black haired male opened the door.

His eyes fell onto the back of a young woman playing the piano. Sure enough, her blonde hair was mid back length, but it was also layered, some of it sticking out from the sides of her hair. To Kaito it reminded him of cat ears that laid flat.

Slowly he walked up to the girl. He couldn't recognize the melody, but there was something to it, something that allured him as he scanned the girl. She wore a white, sleeveless shirt, black ties riding up the side in a crisscross pattern. Her arms were covered by a thin, black sweater that was underneath the sleeveless, shirt. A black skirt dusted against her legs and seat, matching the thigh high boots she seemed to wear.

"Hey!" The music came to a stop. His yell reached the girl. Quickly she turned around. Big, red violet eyes gazed into his brown orbs. She blinked once. He blinked twice.

"KYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The girl shot form the seat and ran towards the closet, opening it before shutting it close.

"Oi, chotto matte," Kaito shouted, running to the closet. He tried to open the closet but it was locked form the inside. He could barely believe it. She scrammed and runs away from him?!

"W–W–Who are you?" He heard a voice form the other side.

"I'm Kaito Daimon." He introduced. "You can come out, I'm not gonna hurt ya."

The door slowly opened, but not all the way. "…Are you… a title also?"

Brown eyes blinked. He'd have to be careful with this one. "Yeah, I don't really like it but I'm called Einstein. And you… are Beethoven right?"

The door pushed opened a bit more. The girl slowly stepped out, softly nodding her head while remaining on guard. Kaito could tell it was out of fear. She was scared of him. Did this have to do with the Chords of Death, or–

"You're not really good at talking with people huh?"

The girl looked like she had ten tons of weight dropped on her.

"You ran out on Headmaster Baron, Jikukawa–sempai, and then me…"

"…I… I'm sorry…" She hung her head in shame.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Kaito waved off.

The girl lifted her head, her body visibly shaking. Her eyes narrowed. How would he get her to calm down?

"That song you were playing… What was it called?"

"Ah–oh–um," The girl flinched, placing the braided part of her hair behind her ear, only to realize it would fall back to the side of her face. "It's… Silver Sky…"

"You mean the song that was released recently?"

"Ah yes!" The girl quickly nodded, though that same, nervous expression was still on her. She didn't say anything after that her eyes were focused on everything else besides the male in front of her.

"Okay… Why did you play it?"

"Well… because… it's pretty… I like the piano that accompanies it along with the violin and vocals. So I played it…"

"Oh… well it _did_ sound pretty." Kaito said.

The girl's eyes reacted, looking at him. "I–It did?"

"Yeah," He smiled. "It drew me in. It's why I came running this way."

"Oh… um…" Her trembling finally stopped. She was relaxing. Kaito inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, do you wanna talk for a bit? But first we gotta go back to Headmaster Baron."

"Uh… do we have to? I mean nothing bad. It's just someone I know isn't there and– oh!" The girl began moving towards the closet once more. "I'm sorry!" Immediately the door slammed in his face.

Okay, now this was getting to be annoying. Kaito groaned as he tried once more to open the door.

"Jikukawa–sempai doesn't bite; and besides Elena is there."

"Who is Elena?" The muffled voice spoke.

"She's a friend. She's part of the POG and has the title Antoinette."

"…" The girl opened the door a tiny bit, the side of her head peeking out. "Elena… Himekawa…?"

"That's right. She's in there now. So technically there are two, _three_, people you know in his office." Kaito corrected himself as he opened the door.

"O–Ok…" the girl said timidly.

Kaito was prepared to walk until he recalled something. Turning around he faced the girl with a smile. "I can't call you Beethoven, so let's hear your real name."

"My… name…" The girl gulped. "It's… Hikari… Hikari Kotone…" A smile appeared on her face.

"Hikari huh…?" Kaito said. "Well, it is nice meet you Hikari."

"Ah, yes, same to you Daimon–san." The girl bowed quickly, showing her respect.

"Just Kaito," The male raised his hand.

"Ah, ok… Kaito," Hikari said.

"Much better," Kaito smiled.

Just then the door slid open, to reveal Kurogasa and Nonoha, to Kaito's and Hikari's surprise.

"…Hikari… do not–"

Luckily he didn't have to worry about her running back into the closet. She stood there stiff as a board, face paled at the sight of two new people. She ran behind Kaito this time, using him as a human shield.

"Hey, we heard screaming…" Nonoha panted.

"Yeah that would be Kari behind me." Kaito jabbed his thumb behind him. Hikari poked her head out.

"…Kari?"

"It's easier for me. Anyway these are my friends, Nonoha and Kurogasa, aka Nightingale and Morse."

"…Morse?" Her eyes widened in realization.

"Um… yes?" Kurogasa said, pointing at himself.

"You… You're after the score pieces… That's why I was transferred here…" She slowly removed herself form Kaito's backside. "The first piece… is with them isn't it? Headmaster Baron told me."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Kurogasa sighed.

"I… I'm sorry…" The girl bowed, apologizing once more.

"What?"

"It's my fault… my ancestor's fault. If we had–"

All of a sudden, her eyes widened with fear for some reason. "Kurogasa, watch out!" She shouted.

Kurogasa reacted at the right time, dodging to the right. He barely missed a tendril as it stuck into the way, grazing Hikari's neck. The girl covered the small wound as blood began to pool out. Nonoha and Kaito both were in shock, not because of the wound, but because of what attacked Kurogasa.

This thing that attacked Kurogasa was grey and has a female like figure. Its body build is similar to that of a human female… however, it has no eyes. Instead it has what appears to be a tree growing from the top of her head as hair and its head. Its fingers extend out in long branches. It has thorn branches growing all over its body and wrapping around it. Any part not possessing thorn branches on them has thorns extending out of its body.

This was the Thorn Orphenoch.

Kurogasa looked at it in shock, "No way… an Orphenoch?!"

Nonoha looked at Kurogasa, "A what?!"

"What… the heck is that!?" Kaito screamed bouncing off the wall. The Thorn Orphenoch attacked them once more. Kaito threw himself onto the girl shielding her from anymore injuries as Kurogasa dodged the thorns with Nonoha.

"We gotta get out of here!" Nonoha exclaimed as Kaito stood, pulling the girl up, But Kurogasa knew. He knew the truth. Swallowing, the boy ran to the door.

"Hey! You're after me right?!"

"Kurogasa," Nonoha was shocked, what was he doing?!

"Come on monster! Come and get me!"

The Thorn Orphenoch turned to Kurogasa. _**"There you are…"**_ it said.

"That thing can talk?!" Kaito asked incredulously.

Kurogasa gritted his teeth. This only confirmed his suspicions. Immediately he bolted out of the room.

"Kurogasa wait!" Nonoha cried out for her friend. The Thorn Orphenoch wasted no time in giving chase. Kaito and Nonoha were left in shock. What, just happened?!

"Morse… he is in danger…" Hikari whispered.

"No kidding!" Kaito replied with sarcasm as he helped the blonde stand up.

"We have to help him!"

"How do we do that?" Kaito declared. Hikari narrowed her eyes.

"…That case…"

"What case?" Nonoha ran to the blonde who only flinched. She wanted to hide those brown eyes only made her feel small and useless.

"It's… well… uh… Headmaster Baron said… Kurogasa would need that case and–"

"Say no more. I'm calling him!" Kaito said before taking out his cell phone and dialing the number.

* * *

Headmaster Baron sighed. He was given the full details of the event by Cubic from what Kurogasa told him. This situation was something the POG, and the Phi Brain children have never faced. His eyes scanned the case that was on his desk.

Looking at the case, he remembered what the strange man had told him.

Baron narrowed his eyes. When can they be allowed to attend a normal school life? Even if they were geniuses they each deserved the life of a normal person. Now they were wrapped up in an issue no one knew about.

_'Jin, what should I do?'_

"Headmaster Baron..." The male looked up to Jikukawa. "I… want to ask to investigate this further."

"Jikukawa–"

"I know the risks, but, these are my precious kouhai's involved." Cubic felt a hand on his head as the one bearing the title of Newton patted the blond.

Just then the phone rang.

Baron picked it up and placed the item by his ear. "Hello–"

[_"BARON WE GOT TROUBLE!"_] Kaito's voice rang out from the communication device, starling the headmaster along with Cubic and Souji.

"Kaito–"

[_"KUROGASA IS BEING ATTACKED!"_]

The three of them looked shocked, "WHAT?!"

[_"Hikari said you might have something that can help him! Now where is it!?"_] The frantic voice on the other line only caused Baron to stare at the aforementioned item.

"He was right after all…" The male's muttered voice was only heard by the two students in the room. Narrowing his eyes, Baron replied to Kaito, "Where is he?"

[_"He left the building but I think he's heading out to a wide area! That monster went chasing after him! We're tracking him down now!"_]

"Alright, I'll send Souji and Cubic with the item." Baron said before hanging up and turning to the said people he mentioned. "You two, track down Kurogasa and bring this briefcase to him."

"And you?" Souji narrowed his eyes as he took the case in hand.

"I need to make a few calls. This is beginning to bigger than I thought. Deliver the case to him, now!" The stern look of the principal was enough to have Newton and Edison nod. Cubic pulled out his holographic screen and rode his robot out, Souji following close behind.

"Okay, if I got this right, with the transmitter I placed on him yesterday, he is heading out to the tracks!"

"A large open space, it's reckless!" Souji gritted his teeth. They had ten minutes before they could get to the tracks.

_'Kurogasa, keep going for a little longer…!'_

* * *

"Grrrr… Come on legs, don't fail me now!" Kurogasa shouted as he kept running.

The monster was behind him, keeping up as Kurogasa ran out to the track. The area was wide and open, and luckily no one was around. Even so he continued running in zig zag motions to avoid the attacks. Luckily the feminine looking monster had a one track mind.

_**"Don't be shy…"**_ The Thorn Orphenoch said. _**"I promise you, your death will be quick and painless."**_

"Yeah right, I want to live!" Kurogasa cried out, narrowly avoiding another slash of a whip by jumping down the hill. The Thorn Orphenoch hissed at the boy's exceptional abilities at dodging life threatening strikes. Kurogasa could only grin. Who knew participating in a Fool's Puzzle would come and help him in the end when facing a monster?! "Dang it… I don't know much longer I can run…" Kurogasa gritted. "I can't outrun this thing forever."

It was catching up to him. He didn't need to look behind him to see it. But he knew it was like last night. If he turned around he was dead. He had to keep running, but the weight of his legs increased, lead piled up in his lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Hey ugly, over here," Kaito's voice shouted. The Thorn Orphenoch turned around, seeing the black haired male panting as his brown eyes glared harshly at the monster. "Come at me you piece of crap!"

_**"I was not ordered to. I was ordered to hunt the boy."**_

"What?" Kurogasa gasped.

"You were ordered to?! By who," Kaito demanded.

_**"I'm not in liberty to answer that question."**_

Kaito and Kurogasa both gritted their teeth. Okay, who would order the boy's death?

Then it dawned on them.

"The Chords of Death," They both exclaimed at the same time.

_**"Hmph… figured it out on your own, did you?"**_ The Thorn Orphenoch scoffed.

"They want me dead that badly huh? What did I do to tick them off?" While it was more of a thought, the boy spoke it out loud.

"Kaito, Kurogasa," Both boys looked over to the two girls running towards them. Nonoha and Hikari both were now at the scene.

"You idiots run away!"

The Thorn Orphenoch's eyes gazed at the girls. Nonoha shivered. That monster, it was looking at her… no… not at her… Her eyes widened in realization. She had to get Hikari away! Grabbing the other girl's hand she sprinted off.

_**"Oh no, you don't!"**_ The Thorn Orphenoch shouted, shooting its tendrils at the girls.

The whips closed in on them. Hikari looked back. The thorns were going to reach them! The blonde haired girl closed her eyes. Her body began feeling heavy. She couldn't run anymore! She pushed Nonoha away from her, barely making her miss the thorns as Nonoha fell to the ground. Hikari followed suit, face planting in the dirt.

"Nonoha!" Kurogasa shouted as he now had the energy to run over to her.

Kaito wasted no time in following the blue eyed male. Nonoha groaned as she lifted her body up. Footsteps approaching caused her to turn around on reflex. The thorn Orphenoch was above Hikari. The blonde turned over, scooting back, with fear plastered on her face. Adrenaline pumped through her body.

Nonoha took the initiative. She ran towards the monster. Fear gripped at her but the female went in to kick the monster in the face. The feminine monster did nothing. Merely it stood in the same position as when it was attacked.

"OW!" Nonoha was the one injured. Despite kicking with all her strength, the monster's face was as tough as the ground she stood on. The kick caused the girl fall back on her behind.

Kurogasa gritted his teeth. The Thorn Orphenoch raised its right arm. Several tendrils waves around the arm. Both of the girls' faces paled.

I'm going to die.

It was a solid fact for the both of them.

"Nonoha!" Kurogasa cried out.

Wheels treaded through the ground, Cubic and his robot slammed into the monster.

"TAKE THAT!" Cubic shouted.

"Nice one Cubic!" Kaito declared as he ran over to the girls, Kurogasa next to him. Kurogasa grabbed Nonoha's right arm and lifted her up, Kaito did the same, except the moment he tried to touch the girl Hikari immediately stood up a blush on her face.

"I–I'm sorry Nonoha–san!" Hikari bowed to the girl, offering her sincerest apologies for the trip.

"No, it's fine. But how do we stop that monster?!" Nonoha gazed at the being that was unknown to everyone.

"With this…" Souji walked up to them, a serious expression on his face. The weight of his eyes sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"Jikukawa–sempai…?" Kurogasa muttered in his softest voice. The one bearing the title Newton held out the case.

"Baron–sensei said that this is for you. It was given to him by another individual for you to use."

"Huh?" Kurogasa asked, taking it.

"HEEEEEEY!" A voice shouted. Everyone turned to see Gammon, Ana, and Elena running over to them.

"Is everyone alright– What in the–!?" Her words were cut short as she caught sight of the monster. Instantly the three new arrivals were shocked. There was a monster there.

Ana began shivering. He was scared of that monster. Someone who was in tune with nature on a higher degree than the others, all he could do was look at the monster, and assume it was nothingness. No… not nothingness.

Death incarnate…

"We… Ana believes we should run!"

"Even if we do it's after Kurogasa!" Nonoha exclaimed. The Thorn Orphenoch was standing. The blue eyes of the male looked down at the case he took. Should he risk it? The monster was after him. He was scared, but he couldn't allow his new friends to be in danger. Friends that he finally had… what he wanted for so long…

"…Dang it…" Kurogasa gritted his teeth as he knelt down and opened the case. But when he opened it, his eyes were wide in shock and surprise. "This is…"

"Oi it's coming this way!" Gammon's declaration forced everyone sans Hikari and Kurogasa to sprint off.

Kurogasa was in too much shock to realize the movement of the Orphenoch. His eyes gazed at the items in the briefcase. Grabbing one of the items he pulled it out. It looked like a mobile phone. But Kurogasa knew better. He knew what this was. It was a black and silver phone with the Phi symbol on it. This item was the Faiz Phone. He blinked once, and then scanned the other item latched in the black Styrofoam. Taking it out, he blinked twice. It was a belt, one that when partnered with the phone, would unless the belts true power. There was a slot for the phone to fit in at the buckle. Also in the suitcase, was a digital camera like knuckle duster weapon, he knew this one as the Faiz Shot and another item was a cylinder like laser pointer called the Faiz Pointer.

"This… is this… some kind of joke?!"

Kurogasa gritted his teeth: He had two options laid out in front of him.

Either to die completely defenseless and helpless…

Or take up arms.

"There isn't a choice in this!" Kurogasa took the belt in hand and threw it around his waist. The belt connected with ease.

"Kurogasa…?" Nonoha asked confused as everyone looked at him. Meanwhile Kurogasa took the Faiz Shot and Pointer and placed it on his sides. After a moment of hesitation, he opened up the phone and dialed the familiar sequence of numbers.

**5–5–5**

He pressed the Enter button.

**STANDING BY**

The phone made a pulsing powering up sound, catching the attention of the Phi Brain children. Kurogasa then closed the phone and raised it up in the air before shouting "Henshin!" and placed the phone down on and slamming it sideways.

**COMPLETE**

Red lines appeared on his body and forming a frame, then glowed for a few seconds causing everyone to be blinded by the light before the light dimmed. When the light faded, the Phi Brain children were shocked to Kurogasa… in armor?!

He was now in a black bodysuit with red lines running along the arms and legs. The torso armor is silver and rounded with more red lines running through it to connect to the silver belt which has a rectangular center with a phi symbol on the front. His hands have metal tips with bands on the wrists and near the elbow. The helmet is black with large yellow eyes and a pair of antennae which split the eyes to make it look like a phi symbol on the face. There is a silver mouth piece. On the sides of the belt are what initially looks like a telescope on the left side and a camera on the right. His left leg from the knee down has a metal brace on it.

Kurogasa became Kamen Rider Faiz.

* * *

**BGM: Justiφ's by ISSA**

"SAY WHAT!?" Gammon was the first to express his shock.

"What on earth?" Elena followed her mouth gapping.

"Just… wait what!?" Kaito had no clue how to voice his opinion.

"Kuro–Kuro transformed!" Ana exclaimed in shock,

"This… is AMAZING!" Cubic's eyes glistened at the armor Kurogasa wore.

"K–Kurogasa…?" Nonoha gasped.

_**"Kisama… Faiz!"**_ The Thorn Orphenoch shouted. _**"Even if you are here, I will kill you for sure!"**_ The Thorn Orphenoch began its move, throwing its whips at the rider and girl.

"Watch out!" Nonoha shouted.

Kurogasa noticed the whips and deflected them away from with his arm. "Now it's _my_ turn!" He shouted before charging at the Thorn Orphenoch. The said creature hissed as it threw the tendrils back at the rider, who once against deflected them. "You're just a one track mind with the same old tricks!" Dodging the last, Kurogasa threw a punch, nailing the monster in the chest. The punch was taken at full force, knocking the monster back.

"Nonoha's super powered kick couldn't even phase the monster but his punch did?!"

"Would you like that kick Gammon?"

"Uh… no ma'am…!"

The monster and rider began trading blows, matching each other for a bit before Kurogasa pulled out the phone form the belt. Doing so, he pressed on three numbers.

**1–0–3**

**SINGLE MODE **

The phone changed into the Phone Blaster, a gun like weapon. "Let's see how you handle this!" The new rider fired the gun, each shot dealing critical damage as Kurogasa was close to the Orphenoch.

"This is incredible…" Souji said amazed.

"No kidding! Look at these readings!" Cubic said as he showed a screen that was on his robot. "It's off the charts!"

Twelve plasma shots fired into the Orphenoch's chest, causing a scream of pain to erect from the monster. Kurogasa pressed thee more numbers.

**2–7–9**

**CHARGE**

Still holding the phone Kurogasa waited five seconds for the item to charge. A groan echoed form the feminine monster. Its eyes drifted onto the rider, then onto the golden eyed girl, then onto the Phi Brain children. The being realized that if it had a chance to win, it had to attack the others.

The monster charged at the nearest being, the blonde haired girl. Kaito's eyes widened as he immediately set off after the girl.

Nonoha shouted, "Kaito no!"

"Hikari run!" The voices fell on deaf ears, "You idiot, start running!"

_**"I won't let you!"**_ The monster shouted. Its tendrils aimed at the girl's heart.

**1–0–6**

**BURST MODE**

The Phone Blaster was charged and ready. Aiming the gun the new Faiz fired the first shot at the tendrils. Kaito ran up to the girl and grabbed her arm.

"Let's go you idiot!" The blonde was dragged off.

"That was for trying to kill me." Kurogasa's voice was low. He fired the blast at the monster a second time, nailing it in the chest with greater impact. "That was for attacking my new friends!"

He fired two more big shots making the Thorn Orphenoch screech in pain as it tumbled to the ground and was up in smoke. Next, Kurogasa took out the Faiz Pointer off one side of this belt then slid out the small metallic card known as the Mission Memory out of the Faiz Phone before sliding it into a slot on the Faiz Pointer.

**READY**

"And now it's time to finish you off!"

With that, he attached the Faiz Pointer to the right side of his leg, attaching it horizontal first before turning it so that it was parallel and facing downwards. Then he opened up his phone and pressed the 'ENTER' button before closing it.

**EXCEED CHARGE**

The phone glowed briefly before a red light traveled from the phone down Kurogasa's right leg, activating the Faiz Pointer. As the Thorn Orphenoch staggered up, Kurogasa sprinted forward towards the former and leaping up in the air, he flipped forward and slanted his body straight before a laser shot out of the pointer turning into a huge red holographic cone and it slammed into the Thorn Orphenoch's chest, stunning it.

Kurogasa then bent his left leg and dashed downward towards the cone to perform his Rider Kick known as Crimson Smash. He shouted with a loud war cry, "SORYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" before hitting the cone and its target before disappearing momentarily.

Moments later, Kurogasa appeared behind the Thorn Orphenoch in a red blur and landed on his feet in a crouching position. The Thorn Orphenoch shrieked in pain before–

*BOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

It exploded into blue flames as a red thin light resembling the Phi symbol appeared on the Thorn Orphenoch before it slowly broke down and disintegrated into gray dust.

**End BGM**

* * *

Cheers erupted form the group as Nonoha and Elena hugged one another. They couldn't believe it, Kurogasa defeated the monster!

"That… was AWESOME!" Kaito declared.

"Totally!" Gammon agreed with a nod of his head.

"You were amazing Kurogasa!" Cubic didn't look at the boy, merely at the data he gathered from the fight.

"I, Ana, declare Kurogasa as a hero!"

"Indeed, you're something special…" Despite the kind words, inside, Souji was questioning the entire situation.

Standing straight up, Kurogasa opened up the phone and pressed the 'End Call' button before closing it and glowing bright red before going back to civilian form. The group ran up to their friend, smiles and faces full of surprise still plastered on their bodies. "How do you feel Kurogasa? Hot, cold, muscle spasms, anything?!"

Kurogasa shook his head. "No, I feel fine. I mean there's nothing wrong with me."

"Are you sure?! The armor increased your physical properties by a grand margin. We should check to see if there are any changes in your body." Cubic spoke in worry. Despite the amazing performance, the armor did have an impact on Kurogasa's abilities.

"Well if you insist, but I swear I don't feel different, and I don't feel like I'm in pain. Though I'm a bit worn out when I was running for my life earlier."

"It doesn't hurt to check it out." Cubic said. "It's better safe than sorry."

"Okay, okay," Kurogasa raised his hands in mock surrender. The boy would only continue to pressure him so better to get it over and done with.

"We better get back inside and confess what we just witnessed to the headmaster." Souji's suggestion was met with nods. Hikari immediately hid behind Kaito once more.

"Oi, he's doesn't bite!"

"But–but–but there's more people here!" The girl shook behind the boy. Anxiety washed through her system. There were faces she didn't know, and she didn't know how to converse with them.

"Oh honestly… Haven't you gotten over your fears yet?" Elena marched behind Kaito and dragged the girl out. As she did the blonde's face paled. Her body shook intensively.

"Everyone, this is Beethoven, or as by her real name, Kotone Hikari," Kaito introduced the girl… who passed out.

"And she just passed out…" Nonoha deadpanned.

Ana bent down to the girl's level and began poking at her cheek. "She's very odd…"

Elena sighed heavily as Souji took a sip out of his Apple Juice. "Indeed… quite the interesting case of Anthropophobia."

"Anthropo–what…?" Kaito raised an eyebrow.

"It's a fear of people and socializing. It's gained either through genetics or from a very limited interaction with people." Cubic explained. "She was definitely exhibiting the symptoms of it. It's possible she may even have a form of Taijin Kyofusho."

"Taiji… what," Gammon echoed.

"I'll explain later. Let's take her back with us to the Headmaster's office." Souji knelt down and lifted the girl into his arms.

"Right…" Kurogasa agreed and the students of Root Gakuen and Root University began to walk back towards the office. They hoped that the principal of the school might have answers. If not, then, they would have to find them on their new mission.

* * *

From afar, the four members of the Chords watched the entire thing from the roof of the Root Academy building. "So… _that_ was the legendary Kamen Rider…" A feminine voice spoke out.

"This is beginning to become a nuisance." Another voice, that of a male; declared as he crossed his arms.

"Even so, it was a lovely test and we have the results we acquired." Kaiser smiled sinisterly.

"What is our next plan?" A second male member asked.

"For now, we observe their movements and keep testing them, until we deem otherwise." Kaiser said.

"Sounds boring… Why can't we kill them?" The first male declared, marching up to the side of Kaiser.

"If we kill them then we lose our chances at obtaining the score pieces." Kaiser sighed as he turned to the right, staring at the first cloaked male. "Do not question my plans, Rage." The eyes of the tanned skin male darkened.

"Whatever you say," The man known as Rage said, raising his hands.

"Mao, Bezique," The two other members stepped forward. "I want you to create another Orphenoch for us. One that will truly test the will of the new Rider… also… I would like for you to do a little digging into something." Kaiser turned to the female member.

"What is your command, Lord Kaiser?"

"Mao… I want you to find out how it is that boy got his hands on the Faiz Driver."

"As you command," The woman now known as Mao, bowed.

"Then what about us, Lord Kaiser?" Rage spoke. Kaiser looked up at him, a smirk on his face.

"I would like to see if that girl is Beethoven. A Philosopher's Puzzle should suffice. It will be one that embraces the sound of music."

* * *

**Fenikkusumaru:** WOHOO! Was that awesome or what?!

**StarlightAT:** Indeed! Though I think I turned Hikari into that one girl you kinda see in all the Kamen Rider series that has the knowledge of what is going on or the special powers that the Rider is connected to… sorry T^T

**Fenikkusumaru:** Bah, no worries. You can't do anything about it now. What's done is done.

**StarlightAT:** Yeah you're right… Okay so then what comes next is another request for everyone correct?

**Fenikkusumaru:** Yep we need more puzzles and heck, give us an OC Orphenoch to use. Oh, that reminds me, this chapter's Orphenoch was sent in by Serpentdragon, one of my coauthor buddies, so thanks man!

**StarlightAT:** Thanks from me too! Alright we got two chapters down and… how many more to go? 23? Bah that's too short for a Kamen Rider fic!

**Fenikkusumaru:** Stop trying to predict how many chapters we'll do… =_=;

**StarlightAT:** Okay… XD Alright let's head onto Chapter 3! Tally-Ho! We hope everyone is enjoying the story and will continue to enjoy it!

**Fenikkusumaru:** So until then…

**Both:** Keep on solving puzzles!


	3. The Philosopher's Puzzle

**Fenikkusumaru:** Hello everyone! Fenikkusumaru and StarlightAT here to give you the latest chapter of Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God!

**StarlightAT:** We're gonna show you a lot in this chapter! Some puzzles, and bonding, and Moe, and action, and a familiar item form Kamen Rider Faiz. Can you guess what it is before you see it?!

**Fenikkusumaru:** Wait, Moe? Then where's Larry and Harry?

**StarlightAT:** Moe, as in an adorable object you just want to hug because it is soo dang CUTE! XD

**Fenikkusumaru:** Oh… well anyways, let's go!

**5–5–5**

**9–1–3**

**STANDING BY**

**Both:** Henshin!

**COMPLETE**

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

Everyone gathered in the Headmaster's Office for the second time that day. There was no tension, merely anger and uncertainty in the air. Despite the amazing performance of Kurogasa, there was still the fact that a monster attacked their school. They were lucky enough that no students were at the track but it still left a bitter taste in their mouth as to what could happen.

Baron Kaidō sighed heavily. This was becoming a bother. First the revealing of the Score of Hysteria, then the appearance of those after the pieces; The Chords of Death, and now a monster known as an Orphenoch, going by what Hikari said which was imprinted into Nonoha's memory. The students and those of the POG were at a loss of what was going on.

"Headmaster," Souji perked up. "You said a strange man gave you that case correct?"

Baron nodded. "Yes, he said it was for Kurogasa and him alone. He wasn't keen on the details but this man knew that he would be attacked and left that case here for him."

Kurogasa's gaze turned form the Headmaster to the case in his hand. His head was still wrapping around what occurred. He transformed into one of his boyhood heroes, Kamen Rider Faiz. He fought a monster known as an Orphenoch. The child part of him was ecstatic about the events.

And yet, he felt scared. Like there was something he had forgotten.

"I don't remember, but… there was supposed to be a reason why I became Faiz." Kurogasa said. "My memory's still fuzzy on that…"

"A reason you became that being known as a Kamen Rider correct?" Cubic asked as he began typing away at his holographic screen, the footage of the battle playing as he observed and categorized every little detail.

"Yeah, and from what I can remember, Faiz is the 2003 Kamen Rider of that year." Kurogasa recalled.

"Fascinating… A live action TV show created for children became a reality in our world!" Cubic exclaimed.

"Not fascinating! We barely escaped with our lives back there!" Gammon declared.

"But you gotta admit Kurogasa was rather cool back there," Nonoha's compliment successfully earned a bashful look from the new rider.

"I must admit even I'm impressed. Well done Kurogasa."

"Thanks Headmaster," Kurogasa bowed. However, the blush he had vanished. "Anyway, we think the Chords of Death may have a connection with the Orphenochs."

Baron narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

"The monster said it came after me on orders. The only people I know that would be after me are the Chords of Death. Anyway, from what I remembered, the Orphenochs are beings created from a person who died. Through the wishes of not wanting to die; their body changes and become that creature."

"So wait they're zombies?!" Kaito declared.

"Kinda yes and no," Kurogasa answered. "The natural born ones have a sense of self, they might not even be aware they are one after they died." Kurogasa answered.

"Is that so…" Baron said.

"Yes…"

"You said… natural correct?" Souji asked. A carton of his favorite apple juice in hand.

"Yeah, there is another type, created form Natural occurring ones called Sired Orphenochs. They are created when certain humans survive being attacked by an Orphenoch and become ones themselves."

"How does one become an Orphenoch?" Ana asked him. The question sent shivers down Kurogasa's spine.

"Yeah… you don't wanna know…"

"Is it that bad?" Nonoha asked.

"You have no idea…" Kurogasa said darkly.

"Very well then, I had hoped to put this off until graduation," Baron muttered as he traveled to his desk, opening a drawer. "But it cannot be helped. We cannot wait for the Chords to act. As such," He pulled out a book and placed it on his desk. The Phi Brain children gather around it.

It was a guide of Austria.

"This Saturday afternoon, Kurogasa you will head to Austria to search Ludwig Van Beethoven's estate."

"Got it," Kurogasa nodded his head. His hand reached out for the book, but another beat him to it. Kurogasa gasped and turned his head. The perpetrator was Kaito.

"Baron I'm going too."

"Eh?" Everyone asked surprised.

"Kaito…?" Nonoha questioned.

"The POG, the Orpheus Order, Master Brain, we took them all down. We had to suffer a lot, we fought a lot, and we lost someone important," Kaito's voice softened at those words. The memories of Jin flooded through his mind. "I can't forgive them… Jin… he asked me to have fun with puzzles, to solve all dangerous puzzles, and these bastards… they want to solve puzzles to unleash something that could destroy the world right? Kurogasa can't do it alone! He'll need help!" Kaito slammed his hand against his chest. "And I'm offering myself up for the job. We have to gather the score pieces before they get their hands on another one!"

"Kaito…" Kurogasa muttered.

Baron looked at him for a while. "Are you really determined to go?"

"You bet I am." Kaito nodded.

His eyes, they were determined and straightforward like always. Baron smirked. "Very well then, I–"

"Hold it!" The loud voice of the red head echoed through the room. Gammon stepped up and placed his hand on the book. "If we leave it all to doofus and knucklehead we're doomed. So I'm heading there also!" The grin on Gammon's face was only met with a questionable gaze from Baron.

"Excuse me?"

"I, Ana, also wish to go!" The painter skipped up to the desk, placing his hand on the book.

"You will need some data gathering and an incinerator to burn the pieces, which I am in possession of, so I will accompany as well!" Cubic ran to Kurogasa's side, squeezing in and placing his hand on the guidebook.

Nonoha groaned. Of course this would happen, in that case…

"Then I'm going too!"

Kurogasa and Kaito looked surprised as the girl walked up to them, "Nonoha?!"

"_Some_one has to keep you guys grounded in reality, and if I say so myself I've been pretty helpful with the last three battles!" The girl boasted with pride.

"In that case not all of us should go. I have university work anyway." Souji took a sip of his juice as Elena flapped her hair with her right hand.

"Then I too will remain here at the school. I can't miss a day as it is and I still have work to do."

"Guys…" Kurogasa felt his heart warm up. He had support from everyone. All he could do was stare at those smiles and feel complete.

Baron chuckled. "I should've expected as much… very well then. However, there is one more person we need an opinion from."

The excitement in the air died down as everyone looked to the doors of the office. That person was behind them, using the doors as a shield so she wouldn't have to interact with others.

"Hikari what do you intend to do?" Baron raised his voice.

"Ah well… I–I–I'll stay here!" The muffled voice spoke from behind the doors.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Gammon scratched the back of his head. "There're over 10,000 students that go to this school."

*THUNK!*

Nonoha gasped as she ran to the doors. The girl pulled the doors opened, only to be met with the unconscious, paled face form of the blond haired woman, "Hikari–chan!" Nonoha cried out.

"She fainted again didn't she…?" Elena sighed. "Figures…"

"Okay seriously what is that girl's deal?" Kaito spoke in a bored tone.

"I suppose I haven't given a full explanation as to why she is like that." Baron sighed.

"Yeah, please, enlighten us." Kaito said giving Baron a stink eye.

"Hikari is quite similar to Kurogasa." This statement caused raised eyebrows; especially form the brown haired male. "Both bear titles, both worked for the POG as external guides and solvers, both are geniuses that were sought out to be possible bearers of the Orpheus Armlet." Baron began as he walked towards the window.

"Also, both were mostly home schooled. Kurogasa because of his parents constant traveling, but Hikari was raised in a single manor with no outside contact. The Himemiya family owns a shrine in the mountains, a secluded area away from society. Even if Hikari wanted to attend a public school, it would take more than two hours to arrive there form her location."

"So… she's a Miko or something?" Gammon asked.

"Precisely, but that doesn't mean they don't interact in society. Hikari is afraid because she doesn't know how to interact with society, so she shies away from anyone she hasn't made contact with since her birth. There was an attempt to have her make a debut in society."

"That's right, a concert!" Elena's declaration shifted the attention to her.

Nonoha asked, "A concert?"

"She's called Beethoven for a reason Galileo. Her piano playing skills are… remarkable. It's difficult to describe. It can only be shown but I heard there was a concert. I don't know the details but after that…"

"She began to seclude herself. The POG kept in contact with the family. But Beethoven all but vanished from society." Baron finished Elena's explanation.

"Until now…" Kurogasa finished.

"Precisely," Baron nodded.

"Why did she come out now though?" Ana's question got the group thinking as Nonoha began waving a fan in front of the blonde's face.

"…The score pieces." Kurogasa muttered. "She must know more about them than I do."

"How would they? Like Baron said she's a freakin hermit."

"Her title is BEE–THO–VEN!" Kaito spoke, sounding off the name to Gammon's face.

"I know that!" Gammon growled, pushing his face into Kaito's.

"Then don't go asking stupid questions!" Kaito growled back.

"Indeed. But it is not just that." Baron replied as the two solvers began to have a growling contest. "If all the score pieces gather, you would need someone to play them."

Kaito and Gammon stopped. Both turned to the principal.

"So… wait… she _can_?!"

"Years of practice and genius intellect merged to create a skill no one else possesses. She cannot compose music herself yet, but playing ones in existence is part of the course."

"So the Chords of Death plan to use her to play the score?! But couldn't there be other people across the globe who, could?" Nonoha exclaimed.

"Is there anyone else you know who is a genius with music and bears the title of Beethoven?"

"…Besides the dead guy no…" Gammon muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Baron narrowed his eyes. "To complete the goal of the Score, they need the music sheets, and one that can play them. Her existence is secret, and in that way it has acted as a shield for her. No one knows who Beethoven is, other than that person exists. If they did manage to find out, then being stranded at the Himemiya Shrine will leave her defenseless. As such–"

"You transferred her here to hide her in plain sight," Elena finished.

"As you can see there is a… bump in the road…" Baron stared at the girl's sleeping form. "This is the best course of action for now. But be reminded." He added. "The Chords of Death must _not_ get to her. If they get the pieces _and_ her, then the world we know will cease to exist…"

Their mission was simple: find the score pieces and protect the one bearing the title Beethoven. And yet, the obstacles known as the Orphenochs and the Chords of Death stood in their way. Kurogasa, the one who possessed the clues necessary to find the pieces and the only one who can defeat the Orphenochs, was the only person who could clear the way.

The information sunk in. All they could do was wait; until Saturday.

"Ah Baron–sensei," Souji spoke up knocking everyone out of their thoughts. "Where shall Himemiya–san be, staying?"

"She will be staying in the vacant room with Kurogasa in the dorms. However the move will have to take place after the trip from Austria. As such, please discuss amongst yourselves who will be taking in Beethoven."

Everyone looked at him in disbelief, "…WHAT?!"

"I didn't stutter." Baron said.

"Not me!" Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, Elena, and Nonoha, who already has Kurogasa staying with her, exclaimed.

Kaito asked shocked, "HUH?!"

"Very well then, Kaito if you–"

"DON'T PLEASE! THERE ISN'T ANYWEHRE FOR HER! MY DORM IS ONE ROOM ONLY!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a say in this." Baron said. To be honest, he was quite amused seeing Kaito in this situation.

"SAY WHAT?!"

* * *

**(Cue Theme Chu–Bura by Kelun)**

**(Instrumental) **At the start of the music, many forms of puzzle pieces fly up in the air, hovering in the air for a few seconds before the pieces suddenly came together to form cameo shots of Kaito, Nonoha, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, Kurogasa, and Hikari with their title names in the background. The puzzle pieces then scatter again to show a blue sky before the title Phi Brain: Score of Hysteria appears before it fades away and the camera suddenly moves down to show Root Academy.

**(O~naji~ dorama wo nandamo miteru)** Kaito, Gammon, and Kurogasa walk up the hill towards the school, with Gammon driving on his bike after them.  
**(Kyou~ mo naa~, sonna ki ga shiteta zutto)** Gammon speeds past them, making Kaito spin around a bit before the latter gets angry and chases after him, making Nonoha sweat drop while Kurogasa smiled with amusement.  
**(Ki~mi ga~ waratte kureta shunkan ni)** Ana sat on a nearby bench at the entrance of the school painting as Cubic drove next to him on his robot, waiting for the others to arrive.  
**(A~tara~shii sutori ga hajimatta) **The scene then changes to Souji and Baron who looked outside the window as they talked before Baron turns around to his desk looking at a file showing a picture of Hikari.

**(Chuburarin na aseta hibi ga) **The score pieces of Beethoven's Mad Melody fly into the palms of Kaiser and the Chords of Death. A silhouette of the Orpheus Armlet shines within the pieces.  
**(Iruzuiteiku no ga waka~ttan da)** The camera then pans forward fast as if going through a space warp into the Orpheus Armlet silhouette until it slowly stops to Hikari in a black void, specifically to her eyes and opens them, revealing that her eyes were shining golden.

**(Saa~, ma~bu~ta o a~ke~te) **The Phi Brain children, Nonoha and Kurogasa stand across a large chessboard, the other side holding Kaiser and the Chords of Death, each wearing an Orpheus Armlet.  
**(Kodoku ni surigaeteta) **The scene switches to Freecell and the Orpheus Order, rushing up a flight of stairs, with those of the POG in an office typing on laptops. A shadow of a captured Rook spurs them on.  
**(Na~ku~shi~te~ta yuu~ki~ wo)** Kurogasa and Nonoha stand back to back. When Kurogasa turns around, Nonoha disappears, replacing her with Kaiser as he held out his hand. Kurogasa's eyes narrowed, activating the Faiz belt and transforms into Kamen Rider Faiz.  
**(Kono te ni kakegeyo)** Kaito runs towards Hikari playing the piano, only for the image to shatter, forcing him into a maze puzzle. After recovering from the shock, his right eye reflects the universe within himself.

**(Ko~ra~e~te~tta na~mi~da)** The camera hovers overheard showing all the cloaked members of the Chords of Death including Kaiser going face–to–face against Kaito, Kurogasa, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, and Hikari as they were in a Puzzle of God that involves all of them.  
**(Ima omoidashita kara) **The ghost of Jin materializes and Raëtsel, Elena, Souji, and Baron appear one by one as the POG symbol illuminates behind them, ready to support the Phi Brain children before the score pieces, burst into flames to change to another scene.

**(Ki~mi~ no~ te~ wo ni~gi~tte) **In the rain, Kurogasa sits with his back to a wall curled up looking down sadly before a hand extends to Kurogasa making him look up to see Nonoha in front of him, smiling. Kurogasa smiles back before taking Nonoha's hand and at that point, the sun comes out and the rains stops.  
**(Monogatari wa hajimaru) **Kaito, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, and Hikari all run up to him, each smiling as they prepare to confront their new Friend.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Philosopher's Puzzle

Kaito was not amused, not at all. His books hung on the strap over his shoulders, but today it felt a tiny bit heavier. Hikari's hand grasped the strap, the blonde haired girl walking behind him, using him once again as a shield to protect herself from Kurogasa and Nonoha, who were walking ahead of the boy.

Earlier they tried to walk together, but the girl panicked and dragged Kaito back with her with impressive strength. His teeth grinded together as he muttered incoherent words one after the other, most likely grumbling about his situation, that was the observation Kurogasa and Nonoha made.

"I feel kinda bad for Kaito…" Kurogasa muttered, his eyes looking back to the said person.

"Same here…" Nonoha nodded.

"QUIT APOLOGIZING!"

"I'M SORRY!"

Nonoha and Kurogasa sighed. They turned around to see Kaito glaring heavily at the girl, who was on her hands and knees bowing, apologizing over and over again.

Kaito know, in this light it looked like he was bullying the girl. With a heavy, aggravated sigh he spoke.

"Stop apologizing and let's go!"

"Okay! I'm sor– eep!" The girl screamed lightly as she was confronted with Kaito's heated gaze.

Nonoha and Kurogasa both sweat dropped.

"Come on you two let's go home!" Nonoha cried out. Hikari took shelter behind the boy once again. Kaito grumbled as tried to pass up the two, only to be stopped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kaito nearly fell backwards as the girl pulled on the strap of his books. "For the love of– Hikari stop doing that! You know Kurogasa and Nonoha!"

"But–But–But–"

"They don't bite!"

"But–But–But I bonded with you!"

"Bonded?!" All three exclaimed.

"Kaito said he liked the song and I said I liked the song so we bonded!"

"Hikari… no I can't finish that line…"

"What line?" Nonoha glanced at the boy who merely waved his hand.

"I was about to say you can't bond over a simple act… but…"

"Yeah that's total BS."

Eventually, after another stall for five minutes, the four arrived back at the dorms. Kaito sighed heavily as he glanced behind him. The girl was shivering once more.

'Where the heck is she even going to sleep? …The floor?' Kaito began questioning where to place her.

"Alright, who's hungry?" Nonoha asked.

"I am!" Kurogasa and Kaito declared. Nonoha shook her head.

"Alright then time for a…" Nonoha gazed at the girl behind Kaito's back. "Hikari, are you hungry?"

"…yes…"

"Then it's a meal for four coming up! Kurogasa, can you cook?"

"I sure can!" Kurogasa grinned. "Chef Kururugi is at your service!"

* * *

Nonoha and Kurogasa were both at the stove preparing food for themselves, Kaito and Hikari.

"Alright, rice in the wok then some scrambled eggs in there. Bits of green onions and bacon, some sesame seeds," Kurogasa said as he added the ingredients and stirred the fried rice in the wok.

"Not bad Kurogasa," Nonoha declared as she cut the onions into little pieces, followed by the bacon. "You really know your stuff."

"Have to. I've been on my own for a while." Brown eyes gazed at Kurogasa. He's been alone, and his reluctant to talk about his parents, they must be gone then.

"How long…?"

Kurogasa stopped a bit before saying, "For a while…"

Brown eyes averted back to the food. What could she say to him? She could never know how hard it was for him, it was a solemn fact she believed. With Kaito it was different, he had her, she supported him the best she could. But for Kurogasa, did he have anyone to support him? Chances were fifty–fifty.

"It's different this time."

"Huh?" Kurogasa turned to Nonoha. Her eyes, they were solid, determined, and warm.

"You're not alone anymore."

"Nonoha…"

A smile was his only response. Through that smile, he could tell Nonoha was admitting the truth.

Whatever sad life he had was going to be behind him, he had friends here. He may not have known them for long, only three days, but he liked them. He wanted to know more about them.

"We're friends Kuro, and as long as you have friends, then you'll never be alone."

Those words she spoke, they were so refreshing. How long has it been since he heard those kinds of words? His heart felt lighter, like it could float away.

Kurogasa smiled. "Yeah… thank you… Nonoha…"

"No prob." Nonoha smiled. "Now c'mon, Kaito and Hikari–chan are getting hungry."

"Right," Kurogasa nodded, before the two went back to cooking.

* * *

Kaito scratched the back of his head as he entered his dorm room.

"Alright… so… this is it. It's nothin' special." He moved away from the doorway, waiting for the girl to come in, but she didn't. Kaito narrowed his eyes. This was beginning to be a bother.

"Oi, come in!" He ordered, expecting the girl to obey. But she still remained outside.

"Grrr… freakin Baron and his freakin," The black haired boy muttered as he walked outside. The girl was outside, watching the sunset.

"So pretty…" Her eyes… Despite the fact that she was looking at the sun with similar colored eyes, he could see it, her vision was somewhere else, somewhere far away.

"…Hikari?" The girl gasped and turned to Kaito. A bright blush on her face, she shook her head and bowed.

"I'm sorry about all of this!"

"Whatever, let's get inside and wait for Kurogasa and Nonoha to make dinner." He walked back inside, this time for certain, the girl was behind him. He heard the door close behind him.

Hikari entered the dorm room. It was small, only fit for a single person. Even so, there was a small kitchen, and to her left, a door that led to the bathroom.

"So, like I said, it's nothing special."

*BAM!*

Kaito's eyes widened. Turning around quickly he saw the bathroom door. He heard the lock click; telling him the door was locked from the inside.

"Oi, Hikari, what are you doing in there?!" Kaito asked, going up to the bathroom door.

"I–I decided to sleep in here!"

"What you gonna sleep in the tub?!"

"Y–Yes, just like I have done several times before!"

"You can't sleep in there! What if I have to go in the middle of the night?"

"T–Th–Then use, the bathroom! I'll unlock the door!"

"I CAN'T GO WITH SOMEONE WATCHING ME! LET ALONE A GIRL!"

"I–I'll be asleep so it will be okay right?!"

"NO IT'S NOT OKAY!"

"YES IT IS!"

"NO IT'S NOT!"

"YES IT IS!"

"NO IT'S NOT!"

The front door slammed open, revealing Nonoha with Kurogasa, each holding plates of food. "Kaito, the food's ready!"

"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?!" Kaito screamed out in pure anger.

Nonoha gave him a blank look while Kurogasa gave him a deadpan look.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU YELLING AT ME FOR?!"

"GAH, I GIVE! I GIVE!"

"Really, dude, you should've seen that coming…" Kurogasa sighed heavily. He scanned the room as Nonoha began practicing her wrestling and judo techniques on the male. He didn't see the sight of familiar blonde hair. But her shoes were at the door. So that meant…

Turning his gaze to the bathroom door Kurogasa knocked on it.

"Hey Hikari, we got food!"

"Uh… please leave it out there… I will get it in a minute…"

Kurogasa sighed. Her reluctance to interact was beginning to be a problem. He wanted to ask her why she was like this but she probably wouldn't tell him. Placing the food at the table Kurogasa decided to take a drastic measure.

"Hikari if you want your food it's at the counter across from the bathroom."

"…okay…"

The doors to the bathroom unlocked, but didn't open. Kurogasa waited for the girl to come out, but so far she didn't. Nonoha dropped Kaito; the boy paled and passed out.

"Is she…"

"Doesn't look like it…"

"Oh well, we tried." Nonoha sighed.

"Guess we better leave them…" Kurogasa turned to the male on the floor. Placing his hands together the boy did a silent prayer before he and Nonoha closed the door behind them.

*Click!*

Hikari opened the bathroom door. Turning to her right she saw Kaito on the the ground, passed out.

"…I must never make that girl angry…" It was a silent declaration and Hikari went to grab her plate. The food looked rather delicious, enough to make drool leek out from the corner of the blonde's mouth. She stopped herself and grabbed the plate of food. Before returning to the bathroom she heard a groan. Turning to the right she saw Kaito slowly coming back to conscious. She ran to the bathroom and locked the door once more.

"Ow…" Kaito groaned. The boy rubbed the back of his head. "Dang it Nonoha…"

"…Are… you okay?" The muffled voice of the blonde managed to reach his ears. Despite his sore muscles begging him not to, the boy stood, and slumped a bit as he walked over to the counter. There, he realized that there was only one plate of food. Brown eyes drifted to the bathroom door.

"Uh… yeah…" Kaito said. "Are you… eating in there?"

"Y–Yes… it's really good!" Her voice sounded rather happy. Kaito smiled lightly.

"Oi, do you really want to sleep in there?"

"Y–Yes…"

"Fine, keep that door unlocked. I'll get you a pillow and blanket."

"Y–You don't have to! I'm good!" She spoke so fast that Kaito had to make the assumption she was embarrassed.

"Nuh–uh, it's not happening. I'm getting a pillow and blanket for you." Kaito said before going to do just that.

"But–But–But–"

"No buts! Now quit stuttering and unlock the door!"

"Yes sir!" The door was unlocked the moment he ordered it.

"That was fast…" Kaito muttered.

He gathered the items and knocked on the door. The girl opened it, rather wide to his shock. The girl stood there with a blush on her face. He handed the items to her and she took them.

"Uh, um, thank you… very much…" She hid her face in the items.

"Uh… it's okay?" Kaito spoke, not quite sure if he should be encouraging the girl back into the bathroom. It didn't matter as she went right back in and closed the door. The boy scratched the back of his head.

This is not going to be easy, getting her to open.

* * *

_Black spots splattered a dark gray background. Kaito was in that world again. That dark, gray, depressing world, where everything was destroyed… Why, why was he seeing such a vision again? Wasn't Orpheus gone? _

_He treaded along the beaten path, looking around everyone was on the ground, either dead or unconscious. He could tell he difference. Some bodies were breathing, others were not._

_"What is this?" Kaito gasped. "Why am I back here?!"_

_His face portrayed the broken state his mind was in. If he's having this vision again, it meant something was going to happen to cause this, something he had to prevent. _

_He arrived at a wide field… the same field where that horrible cloaked figure was supposed to be. What he saw was not the figure, but all his friends, dead on the ground. He bit his lip. _

_"This isn't real… it's a vision…" Then he saw it, Kurogasa and Hikari both. Kurogasa as the rider, Hikari lying; next to him, though her appearance, her outfit was different. _

_"Kurogasa… hey man can you hear me!?" He screamed out, hoping the vision would look at him, but it didn't. _

_"This is the future that will come to be…" Kaito's eyes widened. That voice, he recognized that voice. It was calm, and yet warm. Kaito turned around to see someone he witness die more than a week ago. Jin Makata. _

_"Jin…"_

_"This will be the future, if you do not stop the evil that is to come…"_

_Kaito's eyes widened. "The score pieces, they can affect the world… this much?" _

_"Yes. Kaito, you will be the key player in ending it. You, Baron, Rook, everyone, including the new rider…" _

_"Kurogasa…?" Kaito muttered. "But wait, all we have to do is burn the pieces right?" _

_"Yes… but there is another way to play the melody. It doesn't need to be written down for it to be played." At those words, Jin began to fade. _

_"No, wait Jin! I still have questions!" _

_"You can do it… Kaito… Give Baron my regards…" _

_"JIIIIIN!" _

* * *

Kaito shot up from his bed, cold sweat running down his brow. He panted lightly, eyes wide as he tried to make sense of the vision. No, there was nothing to decipher. His hand covered his face.

"The score… it's that dangerous…" He could barely believe it. To think one measly sheet of music could cause so much damage.

He turned to the clock. It read 12:00 A.M. It was midnight.

"…Way too early to be awake…" Before he could go back to sleep, he glanced at the bathroom door. His eyes widened. It was open?

The boy was curious and stood up from his bed. Lightly he tiptoed towards the door. He poked his head through it.

Hikari was sleeping in the tub, like she said she would. Her head rested on a pillow, the black sheet covered her body.

"And she's still sleeping away…" Kaito sighed to himself. Kaito walked back to the bed, flopping down as the vision appeared in his mind as images. "We're the key to ending it huh?" The boy turned over. His eyes caught sight of part of a circular wooden cross puzzle. He held the item in his hand, clutching it as images of his best friend echoed in his mind.

"Rook, be safe…" Kaito muttered. Unbeknownst to him, Kurogasa was having the same dream.

* * *

_Kurogasa was shocked. He was in a dead world. Buildings and people lied on the streets, dead or dying. He traveled through this wasteland, distraught and disbelief traveled through him._

_"What is this?" Kurogasa gasped, looking at the horrible site._

_He continued walking through the area. His eyes fell onto the bodies as he advanced towards a clearing. There he saw it, a sight that made him sick. He saw his friends, all dead._

_"Kaito, Nonoha! Minna," Kurogasa shouted, running over to Nonoha's body. "Nonoha, wake up, Nonoha!"_

_Nonoha was lifeless. Her body, limp in his arms… Tears threatened to fall, but he held them back. He swore not to since that day._

_"This is a future that is sure to occur…"_

_Kurogasa looked up and his eyes widened when he saw in front of him…_

_"Kaa–san…!"_

_"Kurogasa…" The woman smiled. Blue eyes widened as the woman knelt down to him. "You have good friends; otherwise they wouldn't be here in your vision." _

_"Kaa–san… what… what's going on?!"_

_"I'm here to warn you."_

_"Warn me about what?" Kurogasa asked._

_"The end of the world," Her words were haunting, matching the scene that surrounded him. "Kurogasa, this is what will occur should the score of Hysteria be played."_

_"No way…"_

_"But do not worry." Yukina assured. "You have the power to protect those precious to you. You are a Kamen Rider. And AS one, you must protect this world."_

_"But Kaa–san, there's a secret to Faiz's transformation and I don't remember it! What is it?!"_

_The woman gave her son a sympathetic look. "It's for the best… that you don't know."_

_"What?" Kurogasa asked, "Why not?" But she didn't answer as she started to move back and slowly fade away. _

_"I have to go Kurogasa, but remember that I'll always love you no matter what."_

_"Kaa–san," Kurogasa shouted, putting Nonoha down and running towards his mom to catch up with her, but he couldn't as she faded away faster._

_"Aishiteru… Kurogasa…" Yukina smiled before fading to nothing._

_"KAA–SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"_

* * *

"KAA–SAN!" Kurogasa shouted, suddenly jolting up to sit up right. His heart was beating fast, his breath was panting hard. Ice cold sweat fell from his face, and was overcome with exhaustion.

Slowly he began to calm down, his breathing returned to normal. His mind kept repeating the same question.

What just happened?

He couldn't believe what he saw.

"Kurogasa…?" Nonoha's sleepy voice mumbled from the other side of the door.

"Nonoha…? Sorry did I wake you?" Kurogasa grabbed a shirt from his bag and threw it on. That was when Nonoha opened the door to see him. Luckily he got the white t shirt on that held a symbol of Faiz on it. Nonoha was wearing her school uniform.

"Is something wrong?"

"Sorry… just a bad dream…" Kurogasa sighed tiredly.

Nonoha noticed something about him, "You're sweating Kurogasa. Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"Y–Yeah, I am fine." Kurogasa nodded. He smiled, trying to reassure the girl the best he could. "Is it time for school?"

"No, it's midnight. I've been up all night doing homework and I fell asleep on my desk until I heard you."

Kurogasa looked at the nearby clock. Sure enough, it read midnight. He sighed heavily. "Sorry about that Nonoha…"

"It's okay…" Nonoha waved off. "But… you yelled out something about your mom…"

Kurogasa's eyes widened. She heard that?! Black hair flapped about as the male shook his head.

"No really Nonoha don't worry about it."

He couldn't tell her. Ignorance was bliss and to him the rule was solid. He wouldn't tell anyone his dream just yet. He needed time to make heads and tails of it. But he knew one thing for sure. The Chords of Death can't get their hands on the score or Hikari.

His mother's words, other ways to perform it, if Hikari is the only person who could then he had to protect her and destroy the score pieces.

Nonoha gave him a worried glance. He wasn't going to budge. With a sigh of defeat she stood up.

"Kurogasa… Remember what we spoke about before? You know you can rely on me right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then… oh never mind. When you are ready to talk, come to me alright?" Nonoha sighed. Kurogasa was a tough one to crack. "But if you take too long… I will treat you the same way as Kaito and the others!"

"Ok, ok, ok, I'll talk!" Kurogasa panicked a bit.

"What right now?" She was expecting later but if he was up to it then…"Alright start talking."

"Ok, you might wanna sit down for this one."

Nonoha nodded as she sat on the floor, Kurogasa still sitting on the bed. He began going over the images he recalled. The world was of the future, torn buildings, dead people, they were dead, his mother, the warnings, every detail he could remember he explained to her.

Nonoha blinked. "That's it?"

"What?" Kurogasa asked.

"I was expecting something… well more." Nonoha said. "Kaito had dreams like that when he first wore the Orpheus Armlet. It was dreams of the world being destroyed. It sounds the same like his visions, but now you and Hikari–chan are there right?"

"Hikari… I didn't see her…"

"Hikari–chan isn't there?" Nonoha's eyebrow rose.

"No…" Kurogasa said shaking his hand.

"Hm… that's weird." Nonoha said. "But you saw everyone else right?"

"Yeah… including… Kaa–san…"

Nonoha's eyes widened. He saw his mother also?

"She warned you about the end of the world?"

"Yeah…"

"I see…" Nonoha said. "Kurogasa… I know you don't want to talk about your parents and I don't want to force you, but…"

"It's ok…" Kurogasa said. "I might as well tell you now since I've been talking about my dream now."

"No, I'm serious. Tell me when you are ready to talk about them!" Nonoha waved her hands.

"Nonoha…" Kurogasa muttered. Before he could even start, the girl stood up, placing her hips on her waist.

"At any rate it's late and I need sleep. I'll wake you up at 6:00 so be ready!" And with those words the girl left the male's room.

"Uh… hai…" Kurogasa muttered.

* * *

Just like she said, she woke him up at 6:00 A.M. and not in the friendliest of manners. She woke him up like she would Kaito, ripping off the sheets of the bed and performing a judo technique on him. Naturally he was upset, but there wasn't a way Kurogasa could go against her.

Once he was dressed and ready to go, Nonoha intended to wake up Kaito. She slammed the doors opening to his room…

"KAITO, GET YOUR, BUTT UP NOW!" Nonoha yelled.

"EEEEEEEEEK!" That was the sound of the blonde student running back into the bathroom. Kaito, amazingly, was already up and dressed, his right hand covering his ear.

Nonoha gaped at the site, "K–K–Kaito?!" He was never up this early! Then she recalled the blonde running back into the bathroom.

"I can still hear Nonoha. Can you scream louder for me?!" The male replied sarcastically.

"But… you're…"

"Hikari woke me up, and she was a lot nicer about it too."

Nonoha blinked, "H–Hikari–chan woke you up?"

Kaito scratched the back of his head, a tiny blush forming on his face.

* * *

_"…ito…"_

_Kaito groaned. His body began shaking. _

_"…ito." _

_No way, let me sleep…_

_"…aito…"_

_Come on…_

_"Kaito…" _

_"What is it!?" He groaned, rather loudly at that. Then he heard it, a familiar squeak. Brown eyes opened, looking up at the blonde haired, red–violet eyed woman. _

_"Hikari…?"_

_"U–Um… you need to g–get up. W–We're going t–to be late for s–school."_

_"Huh?" Kaito turned over to pick up his phone. It read 6:00 a.m. "Right…" The boy yawned as he sat up. "Thanks Hikari." _

_"Huh? What are you thanking me for?" _

_"For waking me up; like a normal person and not like Nonoha." _

_"Oh… I don't think I could see myself doing that…" The girl muttered. _

_"Good! I don't need another like her in my life!" _

_"…Um…Thank you!" The girl bowed, causing Kaito to raise an eyebrow. _

_"Huh?" _

_"Thank you for letting me… sleep in the tub." A blush dusted her cheeks._

_"Um… you're welcome?" Kaito said._

* * *

"A couple of awkward discussions and now here we are. Explanations done, let's go." Kaito declared as he grabbed the stack of books and waved his hand.

"Uh…" Nonoha said stunned.

"C'mon Nonoha, let's go." Kurogasa said patting her shoulder.

"Uh well, Hikari–chan, we're leaving!" Nonoha cried out. The door to the bathroom opened and Hikari came out, wearing the same outfit as yesterday, a bag in hand.

"I–I'm coming!" Hikari said before meeting up with Kaito and the others.

* * *

Arriving at school was much smoother than leaving yesterday. Hikari still hid behind Kaito, but was now talking to her fellow female. Nonoha was curious about the girl but only asked questions about the area, where she lived, and her likes and dislikes.

"I've gotta say, it's nice having another girl as part of the group. Even though Ana acts like a girl it's not the same. And Elena being busy with her career, it's a nice change."

Hikari blushed behind Kaito's back.

"I… don't think I am anything of interest… so it'd be best to not have high hopes…"

Nonoha pouted. "Hmm… you really lack confidence huh? Oh I know!" The girl clapped her hands together. "Play us a song later!"

"A song," Hikari perked up.

"Yeah, when we have lunch break let's meet in the music room! Of course we gotta get you to your class first…"

"C–Class…" Hikari's eyes widened.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Nonoha asked.

"Nonoha, she's still shy around unknown people remember?" Kurogasa whispered.

"But the principal wanted her to attend class today right?" Nonoha asked. That only served to make the girl visibly shake. Her face grew pale at the mere thought of interacting with one student.

"Oi, you have to do this eventually you know." Kaito spoke.

"I–I know, but…"

"Huh… look, if you want, I'll talk to Baron about sitting with you in all your classes." Kaito sighed. "Is that alright with you?"

The look in Hikari's eyes, were those that looked to be full of hope. Kaito instantly regretted his decision. Why?

Because it would mean the girl would cling to him for the rest of the day.

"Crap…" Kaito muttered.

"Your words Kaito…" Kurogasa snickered.

"Oh shut up…"

* * *

Meanwhile in a dark place, where a lit candle was the only source of light, Kaiser, Mao, Rage, and Bezique all met for a meeting and stood around the lit candle.

"How goes the Philosopher's Puzzle?" Kaiser asked.

"It's going stupendous. They aren't even aware of its existence yet." Bezique spoke.

"Excellent. And what of the Phi Brain children, Rage?" Kaiser questioned.

"They have arrived at the school. The plan is set to begin." Rage hissed, as his arms crossed.

"Good…" Kaiser said before turning to Mao. "And did you gather any information as to how that boy Kurogasa gained the Faiz System?"

"Well… sadly no. I haven't had any leads thus far. It's only been like, what a DAY since we learned a Kamen Rider was here." Mao remarked, half glaring at Kaiser.

"No matter… We will learn the truth." Kaiser said. "However… given as how the Faiz System is here, I have a feeling the _other_ systems will soon follow."

"You don't mean…" Bezique began.

"Yes, _those_ systems." Kaiser nodded.

"If more fell into their hands, it could spell trouble for the Orphenoch's we are creating..." Bezique mused as his head rested on his fist.

"Correct." Kaiser said. "We have two objectives: Retrieve those systems and finding the Score of Hysteria. Is that clear?"

"Yes Kaiser." Mao, Rage, and Bezique said.

"Good. Now then… let's send another Orphenoch to those children and stir things up so they can participate in the Philosopher Puzzle we have prepared for them."

* * *

Kaito, Nonoha, Kurogasa, and Hikari arrived at the school, but sadly Hikari was jitterier than before. The students took interest to her due to her hiding behind Kaito. Every look she got, she whimpered. Her entire façade was of a little girl about ready to cry.

"Oh boy, this is gonna be bad…" Kaito groaned with a facepalm.

"I can't do it! I just can't. Please take me back to the dorms!" Hikari whined as she buried her face on the back of Kaito's clothing.

"Hikari school is fun, there's no need to be afraid, no one here will hurt or think badly of you," Nonoha tried, her best to reason with the girl, but she was completely ignored. Hikari trembled massively.

"You just made it worse Nonoha." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Aw man…" Nonoha slumped as Kaito sighed heavily. This was physically exhausting, literally.

"Is there any chance I can bribe you to go to class by yourself?" Kaito muttered. He could feel the girl shaking her head.

Kurogasa weaved his fingers through his hair. "This isn't going to be easy. She's a grade younger than us… I doubt we can get permission to sit with her…"

Nonoha nodded.

"Well you got any other bright ideas? Because I sure don't," Kaito growled.

Kurogasa and Nonoha crossed their arms. What could they do to get her to go to class?

"Maybe… it's too soon to have her go…" Nonoha's words struck a chord in Hikari. The hands that previous dug into Kaito's shirt released,

"I… will go by myself…" The doubt that laced her voice was unheard as everyone turned around.

"EH?" Kaito, Nonoha, and Kurogasa asked shocked.

"W–Well, it's like you said. I'm a grade below everyone. I… need to go by myself…" She tried so hard to be strong to them, but her words were forced.

"Are you serious?!" Kaito had a wide smile on his face. Hikari nodded at that. "Well alright then! We wish you luck Hikari! If you need help don't be afraid to ask around."

"Kaito," Nonoha exclaimed.

"N–No it's fine… I… can do this…"

"Are you sure?" Kurogasa asked.

"…uh… Maybe–"

"Hey if she said she can do it then let's let her do it!" Kaito exclaimed.

"You're impossible Kaito!" Nonoha yelled.

Hikari whimpered. She was afraid. But she had to do this, Kaito and the others couldn't be with her. She had to do this, she had to do this. She repeated the phrase over and over again in her mind. Without a moment's hesitation she ran off towards the school.

"Hikari wait!" Kurogasa's words fell on deaf ears as she ran through the crowd of people. "She's gone…"

"Kaito, you baka," Nonoha shouted, suddenly giving Kaito a bop on the head.

"What did I do?!" Kaito exclaimed.

"You know Kaito… You got a knack at reading emotions through puzzles, but when it comes to reading people themselves, you're an idiot…" Nonoha crossed her arms, turning around and walking towards the school. "C'mon Kurogasa, let's get to class!"

"U–Uh, right," Kurogasa gulped before following her.

"What did I do?" Kaito asked.

* * *

Hikari trembled massively, taking heavy steps as she walked through the halls. Many pairs of eyes fell onto the girl's form. Her face was pale, small sweat rolling down her face. There were only five people in the hallway and yet she felt like there were fifty. Hikari reached her classroom. Her hands trembled as she reached for the handle.

"O–Okay… you can do this Hikari…" She said to herself. The girl slowly pushed the door open. Her eyes dilated as the door opened fully. There were over thirty people in the room. All color drained from her face. Her heartbeat was the only sound she heard. She couldn't even comprehend what the smiling teacher was trying to tell her. She couldn't move and she was frozen solid.

Bile began to occupy her mouth.

And then…

*THUNK*

…She fainted…

* * *

Lunchtime arrived and the Phi Brain children sat at their usual spot. Nonoha still refused to talk to Kaito, much to, several students' amazement. Kurogasa was the one to explain the situation, and by doing so sides were taken about the issue of Beethoven and her social anxiety. "He has a point though," Cubic announced. "If Hikari is unable to get along with others or step out she will not be able to have a healthy, school life."

"I, Ana, think that it may be too soon for her to attend school. She needs to be gently eased into it…"

"All I know is things aren't going to be easy for her." Kurogasa sighed before he slurped up some chicken ramen noodle soup.

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Elena asked, looking around the lunch area. "You did tell her where the cafeteria was right?"

"We gave her a map…" Kaito grumbled.

"You gave her a map…" Gammon deadpanned. "How much stupiter could you get Kaito?"

"If we're gonna talk about intelligence Galileo," Kaito remarked in a sarcastic tone, "Much stupider? Take some grammar lessons you failed with that one line English butcher!"

Gammon snarled, "Nandato?!"

"You heard me!" Kaito growled as the two butt heads together and an imaginary spark of electricity sparked between the two.

"Cool it guys!" Nonoha exclaimed.

"What, really,"

"Yeah she passed out at the door!"

Nonoha blinked. She…? Passed out? Immediately she ran down the stairs. She confronted the two students.

"Hey! What was that about a student who passed out?"

"Oh, this blonde girl came into our classroom and she looked pale before frothing at the mouth and fainting."

All of those bearing titles flinched. Kaito jumped from his seat and ran down the stairs. "Is she at the infirmary?!"

"Yes she is." The student said, and Kaito immediately darted towards the said place.

"Kaito hold up!" Kurogasa declared as he and the others dashed after the boy.

* * *

"Mattaku…" Baron sighed as he stood next to Hikari's bedside in the infirmary.

"I knew it was bad but I wasn't expecting this…" The university student looked over the girl with pity in her eyes.

"…Perhaps it was too early for her…" Baron muttered. At that instant the doors burst opened.

"Hey is Hikari okay?!" Kaito declared.

"Kaito, I told you to wait up!" Kurogasa panted as he and the rest of the Phi Brain children arrived.

"Oh, minna," Souji muttered.

"How is she doing?" Nonoha asked.

"Unconscious. I was recently made aware of her condition."

"Yeah, you can thank Kaito for letting her go off by herself." Gammon said. Baron and Souji merely gave him disappointed looks. Naturally the boy groaned.

"Okay I get it! I should have supported her a bit more instead of letting her go off by herself now…" The boy scratched the back of his head. "But, seriously she can't hang around me forever. Maybe it was too early but she is going to have to learn eventually."

"Kaito no baka…" Nonoha grumbled.

"I said I get it already!" Kaito snapped.

A soft groan alleviated the growing tension in the room. Slowly, the girl lying in the bed opened her eyes. Hikari groaned lightly as her vision cleared, revealing all the people staring at her. She wasted no time in throwing the covers over her heard.

"Oi, Kari, get out of the covers." Kaito sighed. He groaned as he saw her head shake under the white sheets, "Why not?"

"…I'm sorry…"

"Huh?" Everyone asked confused.

"I… tried to do it by myself… but I couldn't. I'm sorry. I am really sorry…"

"Do not worry about it…" Baron sighed. Hikari peeked out form the covers, her eyes gazing at everyone, but the covers still hid half of her face.

"But… if I can't… I can't grow…"

Kaito narrowed his eyes. What could he say in this situation? He didn't know. Even so, for her to be startled to the point of passing out, was she worse than Kaito thought?

A small quake erupted under the school. The sudden shifting startled everyone in the room.

"What the heck?!" Gammon hissed.

"What was that?!" Nonoha asked.

"Cubic!" Souji said looking to him.

As if on cue, the boy genius began typing on the screen once more. "The earth hasn't shifted, so there is another cause, but i don't think it was a bomb because it didn't detect any radiation."

"I really hope it isn't what I think it is…"

Ana looked to Kurogasa confused, "Think, what is Kuro–Kuro?"

"Well, given our track record so far, I think–"

*BOOM!*

The wall collapsed, smoke flying all over the place as everyone covered their eyes. Kurogasa was the first to pierce through the cloud. His eyes widened as he saw a gray figure. He was right, it was an Orphenoch.

This one, compared to last time, was an insect type, a cockroach. It has a shell-like back that open up as wings and is also their back armor. The two antennae twitched, seeming to be moving on their own to find something. It had a cockroach like head and its chest rib caged and segmented and has armor on its other various part of the body. Its arms and legs have braces with spikes on it and it had sharp claws.

"What in the–" Kaito got out.

"It's an Orphenoch!" Souji gritted.

"Ewwwww, it's nasty!" Nonoha said disgusted.

"Guys, get out of here now!" Kurogasa shouted.

"Out the windows," Kaito declared as he ripped the covers form Hikari's bed and pulled her off.

"Move and he attacks~" A high pitched male voice spoke out, causing everyone to look towards the monster.

"Huh? Who said that?" Gammon demanded. He got his answer when a familiar figure walked out from behind the Orphenoch, "The Chords of Death!"

Removing his hood, Bezique revealed himself: A sickling pale human with white hair that spiked up. In truth his hair looked like a patch of tall grass. Purple eyes stared at the people in the room, a wicked smile on his face. "Good afternoon, Phi Brains."

"Who are you?!" Kaito demanded.

"My name is Bezique." He introduced. "I am one of the four members of the Chords of Death. And I hereby challenge you all to a Puzzle."

"A Puzzle," Kurogasa gritted.

"That's right. But it's one you've never done before."

"Yeah right, there's no puzzle we haven't done or solve!" Gammon declared, pointing at the white haired freak.

"Oh I can assure you none of you, haven't! Please follow me… or do you not care about the student's lives?"

Kurogasa widened his eyes. Bringing out the belt from his bag he wrapped it around himself. "All I have to do is kill it before it can harm anyone!" He flipped the phone open and dialed in the sequence before pressing the Enter button.

**5–5–5**

**STANDING BY**

Kurogasa raised his phone in the air and shouted, "Henshin!" before slotting the phone in and placed it down sideways.

**COMPLETE**

The plasma lines materialized, revealing Kamen Rider Faiz in full armor as he stood before his friends, ready to attack. Bezique whistled. "Quite the appearance there boy…"

Faiz wasted no time in attacking the Orphenoch. He threw a punch at the Cockroach Orphenoch, making it stumble back and after that pushed the latter back until both of them crashed into the windows going outside. Thankfully, the infirmary was on the ground floor. Faiz rolled on the ground, ready to pull the phone from his belt. The Orphenoch charged at the rider.

"STOP," The cockroach obeyed the command. At that moment, Bezique came out, a device in his hand.

"What are you doing?!" Kurogasa demanded.

"This, my boy, is the switch for a bomb."

Kurogasa looked shocked, "Nani?!"

Gammon exclaimed, "A bomb?!"

"So then listen, well boy. I want to test some of you. So you will participate in my Philosopher's Puzzle. The prize is the salvation of this school, the loser, well, you know the drill correct?"

Baron looked shocked, "A Philosopher's Puzzle?!"

"Huh?" Kaito asked confused, "A Philosopher's Puzzle? What the heck is that?"

"You fool!" Baron snarled at Bezique. "No one has ever dared tried to do a Philosopher's Puzzle! Do you realize what you're asking my students to do?!"

"Of course I know what I am doing. I wouldn't be doing it otherwise. Now shut up old man!" Bezique hissed as he returned his gaze to Kurogasa. "You solved the puzzle that led to the score piece. I am curious if you can solve my puzzle, or if I need to force the girl."

"Don't you dare bring Hikari into this," Kaito shouted.

"Sorry~ but I heard a lovely little rumor about her. So Beethoven~" Hikari flinched, her entire body shivered at the mention of the name of the composure. Did he mean her? Did this man know her title?! "Either you come out and participate, or do I need to make stuff go BOOM?" He placed emphasis on the last word.

"N–Nooo!" Hikari cried out. The girl shivered even more as she jumped out of the bed. Blonde hair flew around as she ran outside.

"Hikari, wait!" Kaito ran after her.

"Hikari–chan," Nonoha quickly followed.

"Oi, matte o," Gammon shouted and he, Cubic, and Ana followed them.

Hikari walked towards Bezique. "O–Okay…" She trembled massively. "I–I–I am here…"

"That's a good girl," Bezique smirked.

**1–0–3**

**SINGLE MODE**

Kurogasa took out the Faiz Phone and fired several shots at Bezique, causing Hikari to stop and the Cockroach Orphenoch protected Bezique from the blast.

"Minna, take Hikari and get out of here!" Kurogasa yelled.

"Are you sure you wanna do that? What about the students that is here in the school?" Bezique sung as he waved the remote in his hands. Kurogasa's hand trembled. He wanted to fire, to protect his friends, but he couldn't. The bastard had the entire school captive with this bomb he mentioned.

"You have two strikes. Will you go for a third?" Bezique's thumb drew ever closer to the button. He was playing with the boy's mind, this much he knew.

"Gh…!" Kurogasa gritted before lowering down the phone.

"That's a good boy." The white haired man placed the remote inside his clock. "So then, won't you please do my Philosopher's Puzzle?" Bezique clasped his hands together.

"Grrrrrrr…" Kurogasa growled. As much as he hates to say it, he said, "Fine, we'll play by your rules… for now…"

The smirk on the Chord of Death's face made everyone who seen it sick. "Wonderful. Now then, will Faiz please take Beethoven to the center of the tracks?"

Kurogasa looked over to Hikari, who was still shaking and trembling. "…I'm sorry Hikari…" The blonde shook her head.

"I–It's not your f–fault…"

"Kurogasa, you can't be serious!" Kaito protested.

"We don't have much of a choice Kaito!" Kurogasa said. "It's either this or Bezique blows up the whole school."

"Che…" Kaito gritted.

"Oh goody," Bezique clapped his hands in excitement. "I can't _wait_ to see how you react to my puzzle and this…" Bezique brought out the remote, causing Hikari to run towards Kurogasa and hide behind him. His thumb pressed on the remote. Eyes widened as they could do nothing but await the explosions to occur. Explosions circled the area around Hikari and Kurogasa, destroying the ground beneath their feet.

"Kurogasa/Hikari," Kaito and his friends cried out.

A high pitched scream echoed through the descending tunnel that was created below the two teenagers. The ground collapsed even further, dirt and grass falling underneath Nonoha and Kaito. "OH you gotta be kidding me!" Kaito and Nonoha screamed as they tell fell into the darkness.

"And thus, the game begins… Hehehehehe… Oh yes you," Bezique pointed at the Cockroach before moving his finger to the others that huddled around the outer rim of the hole. "Make sure they don't go anywhere." The Cockroach Orphenoch nodded before Bezique himself jumped into the hole.

* * *

Kurogasa easily landed on his feet due to the Faiz armor he wore. Looking up he saw the sight of the familiar teen and managed to catch her before she could land on the ground.

Hikari hiccupped as she was caught. The girl was tense, her muscles tightening on reflex due to the fall. Opening her eyes she saw that Kurogasa caught her. The implications of how, caused a bright blush to dust her cheeks. "Thank *hic* you!"

Kurogasa set her down. The moment he did the girl shifted left and right, not knowing if she should move away from the rider or stay with him, another hiccup escaped the girl, causing her to block her mouth with her hands.

"Where are we?" The girl's muffled voice spoke out.

"I don't know…" Kurogasa got out.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"HUH?!" Kurogasa and Hikari asked shocked, looking up to see …Kaito and Nonoha falling towards them?

"Kaito, Nonoha!" Hikari cried out in fear for the teenagers' fate. Immediately she closed her eyes, covering them, not wanting to see their bodies hit the ground. Kurogasa however took action. Jumping, he managed to grab both of the falling teens, placing them on his shoulders before landing back on the ground.

Hikari didn't hear a splat. Instead, she heard a thump, a gentle one at that. Opening her eyes, a smile graced her face. Kurogasa saved them!

"Kaito, Nonoha!"

"Whew… thanks…" Kaito sighed in relief.

"Yeah, that was too close." Nonoha agreed.

"You two okay?" Kurogasa asked as he put them down safely.

Kaito collapsed on his behind, inhaling for a few seconds before releasing. "I'm good."

"Same here…" Nonoha raised her hand in a lazy motion.

"The Faiz armor is amazing!" Hikari spoke as sparkles glistened in her eyes.

"Oi, whose the one wearing it?" Kurogasa muttered.

"Oh… I–I'm sorry… Kurogasa is the one that's amazing…" Hikari sweat dropped.

"I was just joking..." This time it was Kurogasa's turn to sweat drop.

"Anyways, where are we?" Nonoha asked, looking around.

"Inside a Philosopher's Puzzle," The familiar voice caused the group to gasp in unison. Lights turned on one by one, revealing the area they were trapped in. They were standing on what appeared to be a board. Large tubes weave through the areas like a maze, each pipe ending with different color glass orbs.

"What… is this?" Nonoha whispered.

"Is this… a puzzle?" Kaito asked.

"Correct." The voice said, as Bezique appeared at the edge of the board. "And now allow me to explain the rules."

"Each colored orb represents a different instrument, ranging from string to wind instruments. Each orb generates tiny colored particles that represent the instrument. To win the game you need to guide the particles in each colored orb on the other side. By doing so, you create rhythmic melodies. Your job is to create a certain piece written by the famous composure Beethoven. The only hint I will give you is that the piece is a symphony."

"Sounds simple enough right?" Nonoha exclaimed.

"Not really…" Hikari muttered nervously.

"Uh… what do you mean?"

"…There are nine symphonies Beethoven created."

"That doesn't sound too bad! Why are you worried?!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Ah and just so you know you only get three tries." Bezique snapped his fingers. The floor next to him opened up, a small display rising. On the podium was a miniature circuit board.

"What's that?" Kurogasa asked.

"A simple example of what happens when your three tries are up." Bezique purposely pressed the first three orbs, red, blue and green. Hikari's ears picked up on the instruments, a flute, a string instrument, possibly a cello or violin, and a clarinet.

Once all three connected, there was a loud beep that followed. Bezique did it again once the particles vanished. Once again, the same beep. By the third time, a sadistic smile was on his face. The third beep followed and the glass tubes exploded on the display, completely shredding the area around it.

The teens were in shock.

"So… if we fail three times, the entire place will…"

"Bingo! Self–destruct with you being shredded into millions of tiny pieces!"

"Crap…!" Kurogasa gritted.

"With that said, if I were you, I suggest you get it right on your first try." Bezique said. "Oh, one more thing, since this is your first Philosopher's Puzzle, I'll be nice and give you an hour to finish this puzzle."

"We only have an hour!?" Kaito exclaimed.

"That's right! Well, get started!" Bezique waved his hands. With that he pressed a button on a small remote and a small digital timer descended down to hover above them and the countdown started.

"Tch, that's just great. So we gotta figure out the song right? How do we do that?" Nonoha groaned.

"Not sure how, but we're gonna solve this thing anyways." Kaito said determined. "There's no puzzle I can't solve!"

"And there's no code I can't crack!" Kurogasa added.

"Uh, well, there's–"

"Hikari for the sake of my sanity don't create a catchphrase."

"Yes Nonoha…" The blonde's shoulders dropped.

"You ready?" Kurogasa asked Kaito.

"You bet. Pazaru Taimu no… hajimari da!"

"Code decryption… Start!"

Nonoha and Hikari were already by the large colored orbs. "So this one is the clarinet right?" Nonoha asked as she touched the red orb.

"No that is the flute." Hikari spoke.

"Oh…"

"The green one is a clarinet. The blue is a string instrument. Though I'm not sure which one,"

"How many can there be?"

"Well, depending on the song we need… well… it could be the combination of all the string instruments, or possibly a violin, a cello, I need to hear it again before I can make the final decision…" Hikari spoke.

"Okay well…" Kurogasa began.

"Remember, we only get three tries and that's it." Kaito reminded.

"R–Right… so then… I suppose we should start by the instruments that are in the symphonies."

"How many instruments are there?"

"Well we didn't get much of a hint with the Clarinet, Flutes, and string instruments since all of them have those. However, there are a certain number of instruments, and only one symphony has one clarinet. However, it sounded like two clarinets before so…" Hikari explained as she trailed off. "I think this would narrow the symphonies down to possibly eight. We need to hear the others though… I'm afraid the first one will have to be a trial run, if that is okay?"

"It might as well be. We don't have a choice," Kurogasa said.

"Okay then, so we need to press on these orbs right?"

"Y–Yes, let's see… Red was… was…" Hikari muttered.

"Red was flute, Green was clarinet, and Blue was the strings." Nonoha answered.

"That's amazing Nonoha–san!" Hikari complimented.

"Her memory, if nothing else, is awesome." Kaito shrugged as he walked up to the orange orb. He lightly pressed it. It sounded like a low horn when it bellowed out as the particles passed through the glass tube.

"Hmm… that… sounds like a… trombone?" Hikari muttered.

"No, I think that's a French horn…" Kurogasa said.

"Hmmm… Maybe you're right… but given the tone, it sounded like…" Hikari wasn't convinced. She was positive on what she heard, but shook her head. "Maybe you're right."

"Alright then…" Kaito muttered as he walked to the purple orb and touched it.

"That has to be a drum!" Nonoha declared.

"It's a, timpani to be exact." Hikari smiled. "They are large drums that evolved from military drums. They are a lot of fun to play with." Hikari commented with a smile.

"Alright… What about this one?" Kurogasa pressed a yellow orb. The sound of another horn echoed through the area.

"Trumpet," Kurogasa and Hikari answered. Red violet eyes turned to the boy who still wore the Faiz armor.

"You know a lot about instruments Kurogasa." Hikari gently spoke.

"I only know the Brass instruments." Kurogasa said.

"That's still amazing though. What is your favorite instrument?"

"Kari not now," Kaito spoke.

"Oh right… I'm sorry…" Hikari lowered her head.

"Let's see…" Kaito walked over to the grey colored orb. Another instrument that sounded like a flute played out.

"Oboe, it's another woodwind instrument like the flute and clarinet." Hikari explained.

Nonoha went over to a black orb and touched it, and it produced a high woodwind sound. "I don't know what instrument this is."

"Hmm… that sounds like… a piccolo…" Hikari spoke out. Her eyes widen in realization. "That's right! That narrows down our choices to three symphonies. A piccolo was used in the fourth movements of Symphony numbers five, six and nine.

"Alright, that definitely narrows it down." Kurogasa nodded.

"Alright, what about this white one?" Kaito asked, touching the orb.

"It's a contrabassoon! That narrows the symphonies down to two!" Hikari exclaimed in joy.

Meanwhile, Bezique watched from afar in disdain. "Tch… they're learning quick…" His right finger tapped the remote. A sour expression remained on his face as he eyed it. A dark smirk graced his face. "Perhaps it's time to up the ante…" With that, he pressed the remote and an alarm from the digital clock. The four of them looked up to see that the clock showing that they had about 45 minutes left was now suddenly reduced to 2 minutes.

"AAAAAAAH!" Hikari screamed as her finger pointed at the clock.

"Hey that's cheating!" Kaito exclaimed.

"Too bad~ you're losing time~" Bezique called out, his hands around his mouth like a mega horn.

"Oh that sleazy son of a–"

"Nonoha, from right to left what was the order again?!" Kaito exclaimed.

"U–Uh, let's see… um uh, red is flute, orange is probably trombone or French horn, yellow is trumpet, green is clarinet, blue are the strings, purple is timpani, grey is oboe, black is piccolo, and white is contrabassoon!" Nonoha panicked.

"Okay Hikari what Symphonies have those instruments?" Kaito exclaimed.

"W–Well going by what I said earlier, it would be Symphonies 5 and 9, but the fourth movement of each b–but–"

"What?"

"T–The instruments were playing different parts! Like they were playing different notes," Hikari panicked.

"So now the key to figuring out which symphony are through the notes the instruments play?"

"We're gonna have to play them then!" Kurogasa said.

Nonoha and Kaito ran by the orbs, ready to press the orbs.

"Wait!" Hikari's cry caused everyone's eyes to direct at her.

"What's wrong?" Nonoha asked.

"P–Play the Clarinet,"

"Huh?" Nonoha asked confused.

"JUST DO IT!"

The mere fact the timid girl even yelled was enough to spur Nonoha on as she touched the aforementioned orb. Th sound of the clarinet echoed through the area. Kaito and Kurogasa turned back to Hikari, whose eyes were closed. "…Soprano Clarinet and one in C… C Minor… It's Symphony Number 5, the fourth movement!"

"BAKANA!" Bezique said shocked. "They figured it out?!"

"Nonoha, Kaito! Timpani, and then the Horns, contrabassoon and Piccolo. Once you got one going then go add the rest!" Hikari declared.

"Right!" They nodded.

"Make it quick! We got 30 seconds!" Kurogasa said.

Kaito and Nonoha rushed to touch the orbs in the order, the sound of the instruments playing as the particles passed through the glass tubes. Hikari and Kurogasa ran up and began pressing the other tubes. Slowly, the symphony began playing building up like it was intended to. Hikari and Kurogasa began pressing the other orbs, making the instruments join in the score. Everyone's hands collided on the last orb.

"KURAEEEEEEEEE!" They shouted before pressing the last orb.

The symphony began playing, all the instruments slowly building to a crescendo. The timer stopped at the sound of the music. Quiet cheers and sighs of relief echoed through the area as everyone collapsed on the ground.

"Phew…" Kaito sighed in relief.

"Code cracked." Kurogasa scoffed.

"Bakana… Arienai…!" Bezique said in disbelief.

"We're safe…" Nonoha exclaimed in joy as Hikari nodded.

"But… Bezique is still here…"

"Not for long…" Kurogasa stood up, and through the helmet, glared at the 'Giver'.

"Grrrrr… this isn't over! Cockroach Orphenoch, get down here! Kill them!"

A loud screech echoed through the area, he Cockroach Orphenoch slamming into the ground, "Time to go! Good Luck, Kurogasa!" Kaito exclaimed as the three teens scurried to their feet and ran from what would be the battlefield.

"It's go time." Kurogasa said before charging at the Cockroach Orphenoch.

The Orphenoch charged at Kurogasa, who easily dodged the monster. Amazingly the monster was quite slow, but Kurogasa was on guard. Being slow meant it was either a hard hitter or had high defense. Kurogasa pulled out the Faiz Phone.

**1–0–6**

**BURST MODE**

Kurogasa bent the phone to Gun mode and fired the first big shot, hitting its target but it wasn't fazed; by it. Meaning it had a high defense. "Well this sucks…" Kurogasa muttered as the Orphenoch charged once more. Kurogasa easily dodged him. Turning around his eyes widened. The Cockroach was going after the others!

"Guys, get out of there!" He shouted. Nonoha gasped as he turned around, the monster coming straight for them.

"Orphy dear, do grab the blonde but kill the others!" Bezique ordered.

"NOOOOO!" Kurogasa shouted.

*BOOM!*

Shots were fired at the back of the Cockroach Orphenoch, causing it to scream in pain as it was hit.

"What the–" Kaito got out.

"Huh?" Kurogasa gasped and turned around to see who shot the shots and his eyes widened at what he saw. What he saw hovering in the air was a robot of sorts. But this robot was one he knew all too well: equipment for Faiz. The robot was silver and had a silver helmet with a black visor covering its entire face. It also had a big chest having the Phi symbol on it and its arm and legs are black too having silver gauntlets and leg armor on its hands and feet. On its right shoulder was a red protrusion and it had a serial number that said: SB–555V.

"No way… it's the Auto Vajin!" Kurogasa gasped.

Bezique clicked his tongue. "Another troublesome object… No matter. Orphenoch, stay here as I go recover the girl!" With that, Bezique charged straight for Hikari, but the Auto Vajin hovered over to her first, getting in Bezique's way.

"Don't even think about it Bezique!" Kurogasa continued firing the blasts at the Cockroach. The Chord of Death merely growled. Kaito grabbed Hikari by her arm and pulled her up.

"Kick his butt Kurogasa! We'll find a way out!"

"No need to!" Kurogasa said. _'If I'm right about this then…'_ He thought before saying, "Auto Vajin, get them out of here!" He shouted. The robot hovered over to the three teens and delicately picked them up.

"Wait, wait, wait, that's cheating! Orphy," Bezique roared out in anger. The Cockroach jumped, only to be intercepted by plasmas shot to the face.

"Still here ya know!" Kurogasa declared.

"Kurogasa," Nonoha looked over the robot's shoulder as they floated away from the puzzle.

"Don't worry! I'll come back alive!" Kurogasa shouted as tree Auto Vajin flew higher and father away. The machine drifted out of sight, leaving the Orphenoch and Bezique with Kurogasa. The man was furious.

"You do realize… you won't live any longer…"

"I have a tendency of surviving whatever is thrown at me…" Kurogasa answered.

"Hmph… we'll see about that." Bezique scoffed. "I'll retreat and leave my Orphenoch to deal with you. The next time we meet, I won't be as merciful as I am now." With that, he threw a smoke pellet to the ground and smoke came out to cover Bezique. A few moments later, he was nowhere to be seen.

Kurogasa turned his attention onto the Orphenoch, who was now charging at the boy. The rider easily dodged the attack with a roll and kneeled on the ground.

_'Okay, its armor is tough… I know I got something that can break it…'_

Taking out the Mission Memory, he took out the Faiz Shot and inserted the Mission Memory there covering the lenses and a handle popped out.

**READY**

The Orphenoch growled at the sound of the device activating. Kurogasa drew his fist back as the beast charged at him once more. Even though the action of the beast confused him, Kurogasa was prepared to do what was necessary.

He opened up the phone and pressed the Enter button.

**EXCEED CHARGE**

A small light ran through the plasma lines on Kurogasa's right arm, entering the Faiz Shot. Kurogasa met the Cockroach Orphenoch's charge, a roar of determination echoing through the arena. The Orphenoch tried to punch the boy, but Kurogasa easily dodged. His fist met the monster's stomach.

"Take that!" Kurogasa shouted, pushing the Faiz shot further into its stomach and blue flames came out of its body.

Once the flames vanished, the monster turned to stone. Slowly, it then began to fall apart, becoming dust, a last reminder that the Orphenoch even lived.

Kurogasa panted heavily. "Gotcha…" He panted before he ended the call on the Faiz Phone and went back to civilian form.

* * *

The Auto Vajin shot out of the large hole in the ground, setting the three students on the ground. Hikari immediately fell to her knees, the girl still trembling form the events. "Man that shot up my blood pressure…" Kaito panted.

"Are you guys alright?" Cubic looked down at Kaito, worry in his eyes.

"Yeah but–"

"You stupid machine," Nonoha's exclamation caused all eyes to turn to her as she kicked the leg of the Auto Vajin, only to draw it back and hop around.

"Bad idea, Nono–chan…" Ana murmured softly.

"Where did this thing come from anyway?" Gammon demanded. "It scared the crap out of us when we saw it go in the hole!"

At that Kaito stood up. "Hey which direction did it come from?"

"It came from the school building…" Souji recalled the event.

Ana exclaimed with emphasis, "It jumped from the roof too!"

Everyone looked baffled, "HAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Kaito was baffled. A robot came from the roof of the academy!? Wait, wouldn't that mean the person who brought Baron the items was the one to send the robot? Would that mean that person was on the school grounds!?

"Where is the principal?" Kaito asked.

Ana said, "He is gone. He ran towards the school once the robot appeared."

"It doesn't matter! We have to get Kurogasa out of there!" Nonoha shouted. As if answering her wishes, the Auto Vajin jumped back into the hole.

"…I feel like I am watching Alice in Wonderland…" Hikari muttered.

After a while, the Auto Vajin robot came out of the hole with Kurogasa in tow.

"Hiya," He waved tiredly.

"Kurogasa," Everyone ran up to him as the robot placed the tired teen down. The brown haired male stumbled a bit but was caught by Nonoha before he could trip.

"Thank goodness, you're okay!"

"Sorry I worried you guys."

"Did you kill that thing?!" Gammon spoke.

"Yep, it's gone and so is Bezique… but…" At this Kurogasa's eyes narrowed. His gaze shifted to Hikari. "I think they know who Beethoven is…"

"What?" Kaito and everyone gasped.

"Bezique chose her to begin with, and Hikari flat out revealed that she knew the symphonies by heart, and even managed to solve the puzzle when time was running out. Bezique ordered the Orphenoch to kill us but take Hikari alive. I hate to say this but they know now."

"Then… she isn't safe here…" Kaito whispered.

"…Kari–chan can come with us then." All eyes gazed at Da Vinci. "Let's take Kari–chan on our trip!"

Hikari's face paled. Her, go back to Austria? Her stomach groaned at the mere mention of the place.

"I… I don't wanna…" The girl shook her head.

"Why not," Souji asked.

"It's… well… I've already been there before–"

"Wait you've been to Austria!?" Kaito exclaimed as he knelt down to her level.

"Eh I um–" The girl was stuttering, her face beat red and body trembling. Kaito sighed heavily. His right hand traveled to her head, rubbing her blonde hair.

"Calm down. It's probably for the best you come with us. If we leave you here, we won't just be endangering yourself, but the students here. With us, we can protect you. Well… Kurogasa more than I can… but… what I am saying is," Kaito smiled. "I promise to protect you."

Hikari blinked. Her face alone was enough she blanked out but it was her mouth opening and closing that told Kaito she was shocked.

"I…"

"Got your voice back?"

"Why… make that promise?"

"Because I want you to know you can rely on me. I… know I abandoned you this morning… And I will admit it, I found you annoying…" Kaito's words only caused Hikari to feel mortified and ashamed.

"I'm so–"

"But it's my fault because you haven't been to school, you didn't know what to do and I didn't necessarily help you…"

"Eh?"

"So, this time… if you need something don't hesitate to ask me. I promise I will help you whenever you need me."

Hikari looked at Kaito for a while, before she said, "…okay."

Kaito smiled gently, stroking the girl's head to reassure her.

"Yeah that's great and all, but we still have the issue of Austria. How will we get there?" Gammon's question was only met with a small chuckle.

"Well, considering Hikari's protection would now be the POG's best interest, I would only assume _they_ would help us." Souji declared as he took another sip of his favorite apple juice. "So then, shall I assume plans have changed Hikari will be going?"

"You bet." Kaito nodded.

Hikari was silent. It was best she go, but what if there were those that remembered her? The reason for her actions, for her anxiety, she was scared to relive that moment. But… everyone was going. Kurogasa was her only means of protection. She had to go.

Nodding in affirmation the girl stuttered once more. "I am going… Jikukawa… sempai…"

"Are you sure?" Souji asked.

"Y–Yes…" Hikari nodded.

Souji narrowed his eyes. With a sigh he relented. "I will ask the headmaster to add another passenger on the plane. You all leave on Saturday afternoon, remember?"

"Yeah, after class," Kaito spoke.

"Speaking of…" Elena spoke up, turning her gaze to the girl on the ground. "Hikari, do you still want to go to school?"

"Huh?"

"I'm asking do you still want to go to school."

"…I… Um…" Hikari said, before smiling a bit. "Sure…"

Elena smiled a bit. "Alright, then we better get you a uniform, and find a way to make sure you don't pass out."

"Right," Hikari nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Are you sure that she's the one?" Kaiser asked.

"No doubt about it. The description of a blonde haired woman, and she solved the puzzle just by listening to the instruments." Bezique growled as he crossed his arms. He was still bitter about the defeat he suffered.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm… excellent, excellent…" Kaiser chuckled.

"So what's our next move?" Rage asked.

"They will head off to find a score piece." Mao declared as he brought out a tablet. "They will go to the most likely of places, another destination I was heading to. Austria."

"Good. Make sure the Philosopher's Puzzle there is set up. I like to test that girl again. After all, it's always a good habit to check twice."

"Of course, Lord Kaiser," Mao delivered an elegant bow.

* * *

**Fenikkusumaru:** Well there you have it guys! Another chapter is in the books!

**StarlightAT:** We hope all characters are _in_ character and that Kurogasa and Hikari are appealing to you!

**Fenikkusumaru:** So until then, open your eyes for the next Faiz!

**StarlightAT:** Where have I heard that before?! XD

**Fenikkusumaru:** You get the idea. Anyways, see ya later!


	4. Hajimari da, Kaixa!

**Fenikkusumaru:** Hello everybody, what's up?! Fen and Star here to give you the latest chapter of Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God!

**StarlightAT:** This is it people, we are heading off from the edge of Asia to Middle of Europe!

**Fenikkusumaru:** So let's go! Adventure awaits us!

**5–5–5**

**9–1–3**

**STANDING BY**

**Both:** Henshin!

**COMPLETE**

* * *

Disclaimer: Same thing.

It was now Saturday afternoon and all classes were done. The Phi Brain children having packed up all the essentials the night before met up at the entrance of the school, including Kurogasa and Hikari.

The plane rested on the track field, the hovercraft waiting for the Phi Brain children to head to Austria. The doors of the plane opened, a stairway forming form the door. Kaito, Gammon, Nonoha, Ana, Cubic, Kurogasa and Hikari watched the person step out. He was a young man with black hair and bangs that parted to the right, wearing a suit with a trench coat. His face was a sight familiar to the Phi Brain children.

"Bishop," Kaito cried out.

"Hisashiburi Kaito–san," Bishop greeted.

"It has been." Kaito's eyes averted from the young man, making Hikari tilt her head at that.

"I will be taking you all to Austria and I will guarantee we will arrive their safely."

"Thanks so much Bishop." Nonoha smiled.

Ana looked around and noticed something, "Hey, where's Vaji–Vaji Kuro?"

"Vaji–Vaji…?" Bishop raised an eyebrow. He hadn't heard that name before. "Is that a new friend of yours?"

"U–Uh yeah… kinda…?" Gammon stuttered. He honestly had no clue how to explain the robot.

"He's a bike that can turn into a robot." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"…Excuse me?"

"Yeah, he's a bike that can transform into a robot. He's my ride basically."

"I see…" Bishop said.

"Yeah, he… Wait a minute, that robot can turn into a bike?!" Kaito exclaimed.

"It turned back into a bike shortly after dropping us off…" Hikari muttered softly, not even sure if anyone could hear her.

"Yeah… I guess I didn't say huh?" Kurogasa scratched the back of his head.

"YOU MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT!" Kaito said with his head somehow towering over Kurogasa as the latter somehow became a chibi version.

"Déjà vu…" Nonoha muttered.

"Okay my bad… but now you know!" Kurogasa tried to ease the seething male's anger, but it only served to infuriate the puzzle solver more. Hikari panicked.

"Ah, ah, Kaito–kun, please calm down!"

"Eh?" Kaito blinked before turning around to see Hikari panic a bit. "O–Oh, sorry…" He laughed sheepishly.

Bishop's eyes fell upon the girl. Immediately they widened in realization. "You… aren't you… Kotone Hikari?"

The girl hid behind Kaito once more, earning an annoyed expression from the male. "Hikari…Bishop is our friend."

"A–Are you sure?"

"Yes…" Kaito groaned out as his eyes rolled. Hikari was still adamant about hiding behind Kaito, but relented once she felt a hand on her back. Turning her head she saw Nonoha behind her.

"And say hello!"

"Waugh!" The girl was pushed away from Kaito. Hikari blushed as she faced the black haired male. "I–uh… hi…?"

"Hello." Bishop smiled. Hikari blinked, shivering slightly. Then she immediately ran behind Kaito's back once again.

"Well…we got her to greet someone at least..." Kurogasa sweat dropped. "Anyways, the Auto Vajin is in a cargo plane heading for Austria, so we're good there." He added. "All that's left is for all of us to board this plane and we're good."

Very well then, let us depart." Bishop declared as he turned around and went back on the ship.

"Well, let's get going guys!" Kurogasa grinned. "Adventure awaits us!"

"With new puzzles to solve," Kaito declared.

"And bad guy butts to kick!" Nonoha finished.

* * *

**(Cue Theme Chu–Bura by Kelun)**

**(Instrumental)** At the start of the music, many forms of puzzle pieces fly up in the air, hovering in the air for a few seconds before the pieces suddenly came together to form cameo shots of Kaito, Nonoha, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, Kurogasa, and Hikari with their title names in the background. The puzzle pieces then scatter again to show a blue sky before the title Kamen Rider Faiz: Puzzle of God appears before it fades away and the camera suddenly moves down to show Root Academy.

**(O~naji~ dorama wo nandamo miteru)** Kaito, Nonoha, and Kurogasa walk up the hill towards the school, with Gammon driving on his bike after them.  
**(Kyou~ mo naa~, sonna ki ga shiteta zutto)** Gammon speeds past them, making Kaito spin around a bit before the latter gets angry and chases after him, making Nonoha sweat drop while Kurogasa smiled with amusement.  
**(Ki~mi ga~ waratte kureta shunkan ni)** Ana sat on a nearby bench at the entrance of the school painting as Cubic drove next to him on his robot, waiting for the others to arrive.  
**(A~tara~shii sutori ga hajimatta)** The scene then changes to Souji and Baron who looked outside the window as they talked before Baron turns around to his desk looking at a file showing a picture of Hikari.

**(Chuburarin na aseta hibi ga)** The score pieces of Beethoven's Mad Melody fly into the palms of Kaiser and the Chords of Death. A silhouette of the Orpheus Armlet shines within the pieces.  
**(Iruzuiteiku no ga waka~ttan da)** The camera then pans forward fast as if going through a space warp into the Orpheus Armlet silhouette until it slowly stops to Hikari in a black void, specifically to her eyes and opens them, revealing that her eyes were shining golden.

**(Saa~, ma~bu~ta o a~ke~te)** The Phi Brain children, Nonoha and Kurogasa stand across a large chessboard, the other side holding Kaiser and the Chords of Death, each wearing an Orpheus Armlet.  
**(Kodoku ni surigaeteta)** The scene switches to Freecell and the Orpheus Order, rushing up a flight of stairs, with those of the POG in an office typing on laptops. A shadow of a captured Rook spurs them on.  
**(Na~ku~shi~te~ta yuu~ki~ wo)** Kurogasa and Nonoha stand back to back. When Kurogasa turns around, Nonoha disappears, replacing her with Kaiser as he held out his hand. Kurogasa's eyes narrowed, activating the Faiz belt and transforms into Kamen Rider Faiz before charging at him and jumping up, flipping forward to do his Rider Kick.  
**(Kono te ni kakegeyo)** Kaito runs towards Hikari playing the piano, only for the image to shatter, forcing him into a maze puzzle. After recovering from the shock, his right eye reflects the universe within himself.

**(Ko~ra~e~te~tta na~mi~da)** The camera hovers overheard showing all the cloaked members of the Chords of Death including Kaiser going face–to–face against Kaito, Kurogasa, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, and Hikari as they were in a Puzzle of God that involves all of them.  
**(Ima omoidashita kara)** The ghost of Jin materializes and Raëtsel, Elena, Souji, and Baron appear one by one as the POG symbol illuminates behind them, ready to support the Phi Brain children before the score pieces, burst into flames to change to another scene.

**(Ki~mi~ no~ te~ wo ni~gi~tte)** In the rain, Kurogasa sits with his back to a wall curled up looking down sadly before a hand extends to Kurogasa making him look up to see Nonoha in front of him, smiling. Kurogasa smiles back before taking Nonoha's hand and at that point, the sun comes out and the rains stops.  
**(Monogatari wa hajimaru)** Kaito, Gammon, Cubic, Ana, Souji, and Hikari all run up to him, each smiling as they prepare to confront their new Friend.

* * *

Chapter 4: Hajimari da, Kaixa!

With that, the Phi Brain children boarded the plane and moments later, the plane took off to head to its destination: Austria. The flight was gonna be a long one, so during that time, the teenager either solved puzzles together, ate, or sleep just to pass the time so the flight will be faster.

Meanwhile, Kurogasa was in his seat looking out the window with a thoughtful look on his face thinking about the recent events that happened. _'I can't believe I'm finally a Kamen Rider. And now that I am, things are gonna get a lot harder from here on now. But… for some reason, I can't remember why I became Faiz in the first place.'_ He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a locket, opening it up to reveal a picture of his mother, Yukina. _'Kaa–san… what are you trying to tell me?'_

"Something wrong, Kurogasa?" The brown haired male looked up, seeing Nonoha gaze at him with worried eyes.

"Huh? Oh um… sorry," He apologized. "Just… spaced out I guess."

"Right… spaced out huh?" Nonoha lightly glared at the boy.

Kurogasa sighed at this, "Sorry… I've been… thinking about Kaa–san lately…" A soft gasp echoed from Nonoha's mouth. His mother, then did he mean the dream?

"Did you, have another one?"

"No…" He shook his head. "I was just thinking about her, that's all."

"Oh…" Nonoha said before looking at the locket Kurogasa held. "Is that her?"

"Yeah, that's her." Kurogasa smiled gently.

"She looks pretty." Nonoha complimented.

"Yeah, she is."

"You really miss her huh?"

"Yeah…" Kurogasa's near silent remark only made the girl feel sorry for him. Pity wasn't what he needed. Taking a deep breathe the girl slammed her hand onto his head.

*POW!*

"OW!" Kurogasa cried out in pain. "What was _that_ for?!"

"It helps bring you back to reality. You're thinking your all alone right now huh?" Nonoha glared as she brought her face to Kurogasa's, trying to emphasize her point.

"Uh well… not really…?"

"Then if you have problems talk to me dang it!"

"Oi, Nonoha, you're scaring him." Kaito said.

"Good then I can scare him straight!"

"Keep that up and he'll think we all act like that!"

"No, I know better than to think that. Nonoha is just special…" Kurogasa muttered. Sadly though, the ponytailed girl heard it.

"And just what do you mean by that!?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kurogasa sunk into his seat. At that precise moment, he knew. He maybe a rider, he may kill monsters in the future, and he might save the world, but the only person he will never be able to defeat was the girl sitting next to him. He growled as the group laughed at his expense.

"Sure, laugh it up guys, just wait for Karma to get you!"

That only made several of the group laugh; even more. To his surprise Nonoha joined them. Just seeing her laugh like that was enough to get him in the mood for a few laughs himself.

A few seats away, Hikari watched the group laugh to their hearts' content. She felt her heart sink. What could she do to be with those people? She really wanted to talk to them, to get to know them, but she wasn't their friend, just a tagalong.

Her gaze turned to the window beside her. The clouds, the sky, despite being under the same sky, it couldn't look more different than back home in that isolated shrine. She missed the clean, crisp air, the green trees… the nature around her. Homesickness finally struck her.

After a while of laughing, Kaito noticed Hikari staring at the window sadly, "Hey Kari, you okay?"

The girl flinched at her name being called. Turning around in her seat, she used it as a shield.

"Y–Yes, I'm fine!" She exclaimed. Given where she was, she wasn't even sure if she was loud enough, but she made it so she would be as far away as possible from the group, which wasn't far.

"Ugh… she's being a scaredy cat again…" Gammon groaned.

"I–I'm _not_ a scaredy cat!" Hikari stuttered, poking her head up.

"Then why not come over here?" Cubic asked. The question was an arrow to her heart. How could she just walk over there and just act like they were friends?! That wasn't possible!

"A–A–Ano… E–Eeto…" Hikari stuttered again.

All eyes were on her, watching her intensely as her face paled once more. The color drained with ease at the stares. No, it wasn't like that time, she knew these people. Six compared to hundreds wasn't enough to make her relapse but, the weight of their stares was enough for her to hide once more.

"Give me a break…" Kaito groaned as he stood up from his chair and walked towards the girl. "Yo, Ka–" He stopped. The girl was shivering once more, like usual, but that wasn't what caused him to stop. It was the water building up around her, her eyes closed shut to try and stop them from overflowing.

"…Hikari…" Kaito sat in the chair next to her. Blonde hair bounced as red violet eyes gazed at him. "I've been thinking about it for a while. I get you were isolated, but, there has got to be more than that. Why are you afraid of interacting with people?"

Time stopped for the girl in that moment. She could hear it, the voices ridiculing her, the smell of bile, the sight of the black piano and many lights. The girl shook her head, trying to erase the memory like an easy sketch.

"No… No…!" She said, shaking her head furiously. "I don't want to say it!"

Kaito's eyes widen, a small gasp left him. He wasn't expecting the girl to react so harshly. Was his forming theory right then? Did something happen to make her cut herself off form society?

"Hikari… alright…"

The girl looked up at the male, who only smiled down at her. "If there is ever a time you want to talk to me, don't hesitate."

"K–Kaito…" Hikari muttered before nodding, "O–Okay…"

Kaito gently laid his hand on her head, stroking her blonde hair as if to reassure the girl. Hikari slowly relaxed. Though once she felt it leave, she looked up, watching Kaito return to the group. _'…I… want to… but I can't… I can't be with them…'_

"Hai~ Lunch is served!" A flight attendant said from behind the plane bringing out a cart of food.

"Finally," Kaito and Gammon exclaimed at the same time. Hikari, being the furthest up front, was the first one to receive her food. The blonde merely nodded, muttering a small thanks to the woman.

After that, the flight attendant served the others some lunch. For Kurogasa's lunch, it was a bento of fried rice, teriyaki chicken, and steamed vegetables of shredded lettuce, carrots, broccoli, and bean sprouts, added with a serving of takoyaki to the side.

Kurogasa clapped his hands together as the food for the others was laid out, "Itadakima~su!"

* * *

Meanwhile…

Baron Kaidō watched the plane take off from the school grounds. A heavy sigh ripped through him as he turned to Elena and Souji. "And thus begins the race." Baron remarked.

"Do you think the clue might be there?" Elena asked.

"It's possible." Baron said. "But then again, it may turn out to be a dead end."

"Dead end or not we should find a clue at his home." Elena remarked.

"Yes but which home is the issue?" Souji replied.

"I really hope the one the POG owns has the clue." Elena hoped.

"If it did I have to admit I would feel; pretty stupid..." Souji remarked with a light hearted tone.

"Whatever the case, let us hope the Phi Brain children find it." Baron added. A loud beep rang through the room causing several pairs of eyes to turn to the phone sitting on the male's desk. Baron took it without hesitation. "Hello?"

[_"Hello, Kaidō Baron,"_] A woman's voice said.

"Who is this?" Baron demanded.

[_"I am a member of the POG Japan Division, in charge of security and information. I am sorry but we have recently found a leak in our systems."_]

"What? That's impossible!" Baron snapped.

[_"I–I'm sorry sir but it is true. We managed to locate it just recently. Given by the stream of data, we can assume it was connected two and a half days ago."_]

Baron's eyes widened. Two and a half days, and they only realized there was a leak now?!

"Did you stop it?"

[_"Y–Yes sir, we even managed to figure out what items were copied! One of them was a section on Beethoven!"_]

"Grrrr…" Baron gritted. "Alright, I'm on my way. I want a full report of the situation when I get there."

[_"Y–Yes sir,"_] The woman said before he hung up.

"Souji, Elena, I have something I must attend to." Baron said.

"What's going on?" The pink haired girl asked.

"Sadly, the POG has been hacked."

"What?" Souji and Elena gasped.

"I'm heading over to POG HQ right now." Baron said as he started to leave. "Keep an eye on things will you please?"

"Of course,"

"W–Wait a minute do you at least know who did it?" Elena asked.

"Not yet but I can make a guess." And with that, he left the office.

* * *

"Heh… all too easy…" Mao smirked as she hung up on her cell phone.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm… as devious as ever Mao," Kaiser chuckled.

"We have the data and we managed to direct Baron to the headquarters. Is there anything else you want?"

"That will be all for now." Kaiser answered. "You should head over to Austria now. Be sure that the Philosopher's Puzzle there is ready to go."

Mao performed a sweeping bow as she smiled at her leader, "Of course, Lord Kaiser."

* * *

After many more hours of flying around almost half across the world, the Phi Brain children have finally arrived in Vienna, Austria. The plane carrying the children landed on top of one of the POG's many hotels. The blades of the chopper died down, the stairway revealing itself as the doors opened. "Phwee… finally here…" Kurogasa sighed in relief as he was the first to get off before stretching out to loosen up.

"No kidding, that took way longer than it needed to be…" Nonoha raised her arms, stretching them out to the sky as Cubic and Ana got off the plane.

"Vienna, Austria, it's rather nice here. The amount of pollution in the air is 2.5% less than back at Root Academy." Cubic spoke as he rode on his robot, taping at the holographic computer he brought with him.

Ana ran forward, doing a little twirl as he glanced at the scenery. "It's so pretty."

Gammon yawned as he came behind the others. Blue eyes glanced around, "Hey, Bakaito! What's taking so long?!"

"It's probably Hikari." Kurogasa sighed.

At that moment, Kaito came out of the doorway, his hand on the back collar of the blonde haired girl, who had tears streaming out of her eyes, and a large lump on her head.

Nonoha's eyes widened and she ran up to Kaito. "What did you do Kaito!?"

"I didn't do anything, that lump is her fault."

"How did she get that wound on her head?!"

"I woke her up, she dropped a book, she picked up the book, and her head hit the tray she had out."

"I–It's true…"

Nonoha blinked several times, each time, her mouth gapped, closing and opening at the girl's action. However, she settled on one expression, annoyance.

"Hikari…"

"Sorry…"

"Anyways, we have to get to the Beethoven house that the POG used to own." Kurogasa said. "Do you know where it is Bishop?"

Kaito dragged Hikari off the plane, Bishop behind them as he watched the blonde continued to cry. "It should be about ten miles due east if you leave from the hotel entrance. No turns, just straight ahead."

"That's it?!" Gammon asked incredulously. "That's kinda too easy don'cha think?"

"Indeed. And it's why the next task is getting let into the museum. It's closed off, even to tourists."

"How are we gonna do that? Are we gonna sneak into the museum late at night?" Nonoha asked.

"Exactly,"

"WHAT?" Everyone but Hikari asked in disbelief.

"It was attacked several weeks back, and thus to protect the items in the museum, everything has been closed off save for those of the POG."

"Well why can't we go in still?" Gammon declared.

"Kurogasa and I maybe members of the POG, but the rest of you are not."

"Can't we just give them fake ID's?" Kurogasa asked.

"No, that and if the perpetrators are who I believe them to be then we cannot go during the day. I don't trust the guards concerning they are the same ones that were supposed to be meeting you and Rook." Bishop's words caused Kaito to gasp.

"Are you serious?!" Kaito asked.

"I am. I do not trust many people within the organization. My trust only stands towards you and Kurogasa…" Bishop replied.

"Then it looks like we're gonna have to prepare for tonight's sneak in." Kurogasa said. "Cubic, you and I will look at the schematics of the building and see what we can do with the security there."

"Got it," The blond boy nodded.

"What about us? We just wait?" Gammon growled.

"Well, if you want, you can try out Austrian cuisine." Kurogasa shrugged. "There's a good restaurant near the hotel lobby."

"…Austrian cuisine…?" Nonoha muttered. There was something off about her though. Something dark that caused Kurogasa to shiver.

"Uh… yeah…?"

"What's it like?"

"It's… not bad. The food's pretty good."

Nonoha's head, which was once lowered, her bangs hiding her face, lifted. Her eyes had sparkles in them for an unknown reason, but it was enough to send shivers down everyone's spines, minus Hikari, who was still crying, and Bishop, who did not care. "Does it have crab?" She asked her eyes now filled with sparkles.

"Uh… maybe…?" Kurogasa laughed sheepishly with a sweat drop.

"Take me there now!" Nonoha's declaration was enough to startle everyone.

"W–Wha–"

"TAKE ME THERE!" Nonoha begged, grabbing the lapels of Kurogasa's jacket.

"Um… okay…" Kurogasa shivered at the hunger expressed in Nonoha's eyes.

"Looks like Bishop and Cubic will be handling the building then…" Gammon remarked. Kaito nodded.

"But the restaurant is inside the building..." Hikari muttered.

"Yeah, and your point is?" Gammon asked bluntly.

"Wait…" Kurogasa blinked several times before turning around, staring at the blonde haired girl. "How do you know that?"

Hikari must've realized she was heard as she immediately tried to hide behind Kaito, who merely moved so that everyone could stare at her. The girl shivered massively.

"Well… you see…"

"Have you… been here before Hikari–chan?" Nonoha asked. The girl froze instantly. All eyes were now on her, waiting for an answer. Should she lie? Or tell the truth?

They were going to know sooner or later…

"She was. In fact, the POG asked her to perform a piano concert here in Austria." Bishop spoke on behalf of the girl. As the number two of the POG, Hikari was not surprised he knew about that… which meant he knew what followed. Immediately the blonde felt her stomach chortle. And it's not because she was hungry. She was beginning to feel sick.

"Kari, what's wrong?" Kaito asked a bit concerned.

"Kari–Kari doesn't look so good…" Ana said worried.

"I–I'm fine… we're just… too high…" She tried so hard to lie only hoping the others bought it.

"…let's get you inside to your rooms." Bishop felt a ping of guilt inside. Revealing that info, only made Beethoven recall the events that led to her seclusion.

"O–Ok…" Hikari nodded as Bishop escorted her away. However as they went away, Kaito could only look at Hikari concerned.

"Kari… did something happen to you at that concert?" He said to himself.

"Well, I can pull up the schematics of the museum now if necessary." Cubic spoke, trying to switch the conversation as the seemingly sick Hikari was escorted off the roof.

"Screw the schematics let's get some food!" Nonoha was far too hungry to be stopped.

With that, she grabbed Kurogasa's arm and darted towards the roof door, "WAHHHHHHH, SLOW DOWN NONOHA!" He wailed. The wind blew past the others, who were left on the roof, all baffled by the scene they just witnessed.

"…Should we follow them?" Cubic asked.

"Ana wants to see Hikari."

"I'll go with ya." Kaito said.

"Meh, I'm gonna take a nap." Gammon shrugged.

"And I'll go to Kurogasa and Nonoha. I'll pull up the schematics and he and I can work on it while we eat." Cubic said.

"Alright, let's meet up when it's time to leave."

"Okay!" Ana bounced, before he followed Kaito towards the roof elevator.

* * *

"Fufufufufufufufu… It's finally ready." Mao chuckled, looking at the Philosopher Puzzle she finished setting up. The song was one form a certain show, but it would be enough to test the girl once more, and see if the distraction would be enough. Bringing out her tablet she began once more, tapping away. "With this puzzle I made, this will definitely confirm whether or not she is one we are searching for." Mao said.

*BEEP BEEP*

"Hmm…?" Mao looked down at her tablet, seeing a small box blink on the screen. Tapping it she opened the small envelope. It was a message.

[_"Lady Mao, we have confirmed the arrival of the Root Academy students and POG."_]

"Ho~ so they're here now?" Mao said interested.

[_"They seem to be staying at a hotel nearby the museum. Also, this hotel is owned and secretly financed by the POG."_]

"I understand. Keep your eyes on the museum."

[_"Yes ma'am."_] The messenger said before the screen winked out. In the darkness she stood in, a smirk arose on her face. But, this one was not of confidence or delight. Rather, it was of sadistic glee.

"Come, come little ones. Let's play our game of life and death…" And with that, she let out a sadistic laugh that echo throughout the darkness.

* * *

Kaito and Ana opened the door to the room assigned to Hikari, Nonoha and Ana. Inside, they found the blonde laying on the bed on her side, facing the large window that lead to a balcony.

"Yo Kari," Kaito waved.

The blonde shuffled a bit, showing she was awake. A soft moan erupted form her.

"Is Kari–Kari sick?" Ana walked over to the girl, and arriving at the other side of the bed, he saw a trash can placed there, and Hikari's face seeming to be pale. "She _is_ sick…" Ana spoke out. Hikari glanced at Ana, immediately she grabbed the pillow and covered her face. Even now, she was too scared to face the others. Ana merely smiled at the gesture, "Ne, ne, Kari–Kari, Kaito–kun was worried about you."

"H–Huh…?" Hikari stuttered.

"Yep yep, Kaito was worried for you." Ana nodded as a small blush formed on Kaito's face.

"And Ana is worried about you too." The boy remarked as he stared at Hikari.

"Y–You were?" Hikari asked.

Ana smiled brightly, "Ha~i!"

Hikari felt a small blush on her face. That girl was worried about her? "Oh… thank you, Miss Ana…"

"Uh… yeah, about that Kari…"

"Huh?"

"Ana is a boy."

Hikari looked shocked, "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! But–But–But Ana looks like a girl!" Hikari shot up from the bed.

Ana smiled childishly as he said, "I get that a lot!"

The blonde was baffled. How could she not realize it?! "I… I'm sorry!" Hikari retreated back to hiding behind the pillow.

"Huh?" Ana tilted his head in confusion, "What are you apologizing for? I'm not mad."

"Oh… you're… not?" Hikari peeked out from the pillow.

"Why would I be?"

"…Well… there was a POG officer whom I thought was a girl… and he…" Hikari stopped herself. The girl shook her head. She did not want to recall that.

"Huh?" Kaito asked confused.

"Never mind," Hikari shot up from the bed.

"Okay, we won't pry." Kaito raised his hands in defense. "Um… I'm gonna go downstairs and get something to eat. Do you want anything Kari?"

"Oh uh…" She was stumped. Her stomach growled, revealing she wanted food. But the girl felt like she should go down herself and order the food. That is, until she recalled the many people that could be down there. "Um…"

"Don't worry. I'll bring it up to you. Just tell me what you want." Kaito assured.

"Well… I would like some spaghetti…" Hikari blushed, a smile on her face as she admitted her favorite food.

"Alright, spaghetti it is," Kaito smiled before finally leaving the room.

* * *

Meanwhile… all was not good at the restaurant.

"WHADDYA MEAN YOU HAVE NO CRAB?!"

Kurogasa and Cubic could only sigh in exasperation. The three had gotten a table to sit at, and they were ordering their food. However, the menu didn't have any crab and Nonoha was outright livid.

"I'm sorry ma'am, there's no crab on our menu." The waiter apologized.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Nonoha slumped over.

"Ahahaha… sorry Nonoha…" Kurogasa declared.

Then from out of nowhere Nonoha grabbed Kurogasa by the lapels, pulling him close to her face and said, "If that's the case, then I want you to cook for me here in this restaurant!"

"You want me to what?!" Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"You heard me!" Nonoha huffed. "If I'm not gonna get my crab here, I can at least get food from you."

What kind of logic was running Nonoha's mind at the moment?! Was it because of the jet lag or something? Or was it because she desperately wanted crab? Who denied her crab to begin with?

"Um…" Kurogasa blinked before looking to the waiter with a pained look on his face, wincing saying, "Do you mind getting the manager here?"

"I don't see why I should…" The host replied.

At that moment, Bishop arrived. "You will." The host looked up, only to see the familiar black haired man showing a badge with the POG's symbol on it.

"Bishop!" Kurogasa said a bit surprised. "Y–You're the manager?"

"As a side job to make sure we don't lose influence here in Austria." The black haired male proclaimed.

"Oh…" Kurogasa said dumbly. "So uh… can–"

"Yes, you can use our kitchen." Bishop sighed. "Just make sure she doesn't give us any more unwanted attention."

"Y–Yes sir," Kurogasa saluted as he grabbed Nonoha's hand and ran towards the aforementioned room. At that moment, Kaito entered the room with Ana behind him. His first sight of the restaurant was Kurogasa and Nonoha running to the back.

"Hey is something up?" Kaito asked Bishop.

"Miss Nonoha was having a temper tantrum about not having crab." Bishop sighed again.

Kaito didn't say a word after that.

* * *

Kurogasa sighed heavily. How did he get wrapped up in this again?

A pair of brown eyes bore into his skull.

Oh yeah…

"Nonoha, seriously… you need to chill sometimes. I know you can be stubborn but this took it too far…" Kurogasa muttered. Nonoha didn't bother to listen. Merely she continued to watch Kurogasa cook the food she wanted. Instead of crab, she wanted Chinese, and amazingly, they had the necessarily ingredients for Kurogasa to do so. When did he become a chef?

Well, after this whole thing blows over, maybe he could retire and start his own restaurant.

After a while, Kurogasa had cooked up some chicken fried rice, lo mein noodles, and beef broccoli for her to eat. "Alrighty, here you go Nonoha, one plate of Chinese food."

"YES!" The brown haired girl exclaimed, her fists shooting into the air, earning her the glares of a few chefs already in the kitchen.

This is turning to be a pain the butt…

* * *

After everyone had their fill of lunch and whatnot Kurogasa, Cubic, and Bishop met up to look at the schematics of the museum building, while Kaito gave Hikari her food and Gammon and Ana decided to do some sightseeing, seeing that they have nothing to do for the time being. Then… came night time.

Everyone gathered at the foyer of the hotel. Luckily only the desk attendant was there, everyone else had either retired or left the building. Bishop walked up to to the group as they huddled around Cubic, who pulled up the map of the building on his miniature tablet.

"So everything's set up?" Kaito asked.

"I believe so, but there's still the fact of getting past the guards and looking through the house." Cubic spoke out.

"So how are we gonna get in then?" Gammon asked.

"There are three ways: the ventilation system, going through the roof to enter the house, or we knock out the guards!" Cubic declared, causing several eyes to widen in amazement.

"Option three is definitely out of the question." Kurogasa said.

Cubic hung his head in shame. He lost his chance to get data on the armor against humans. Even though the armor would potentially be dangerous Cubic was still curious. "Okay…"

"Actually, knocking out the guards should work." Bishop said. "Just as long as they don't see their coworkers on the floor,"

"WHAT?" Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"It should work. Most of the guards in the building are mostly sleepy and lazy." Bishop said. "I'm surprised they're able to keep their jobs."

"How did they get hired to begin with?" Kaito muttered.

"So we knock out the guards and then go in? I feel like we're gonna rob the place…" Gammon spoke.

_'In a sense we kind of are…'_ Hikari thought.

"That sounds easy enough." Nonoha said.

"Yes, but then comes the hard part of getting through the electronic security measures and whatnot." Bishop added.

"If Jikukawa–sempai was here he could do it with ease…" Kaito remarked.

"Not to worry!" Cubic gave off his signature smirk. "Jikukawa–sempai thought this would happen and so gave me a code that can automatically hack into any system created by the POG, which the electronic security system is in the museum!"

"That's handy." Kurogasa commented.

"So then all we have to do is find this clue in the museum." Gammon said. "So where in the museum is it?"

"I would figure Beethoven's personal study." Nonoha declared.

Ana cheered, "Let's go then!"

"Alright, let's find this clue and score the second piece!" Kaito declared. However, his words only caused the others to blank out.

"Kaito… that was a bad pun…" Kurogasa shivered.

"Ahaha…Yeah it was…"

Not everyone thought so. Behind Kaito, Hikari was shivering. No, she was giggling, trying to hide it but she couldn't.

"Hikari–chan… Are you… laughing?" Nonoha blinked stunned.

Beethoven froze. Nonoha saw her laugh? Well, she couldn't deny that now, but at the same time she couldn't confirm it. The girl remained quiet behind Kaito. She was scared of what they would say. The girl remained silent, "GAH!" The girl screamed. She felt something on her right ear. Turning to her right she saw Kaito pulling on her ear, "K–K–Kaito–san!?"

"Stop being so timid already sheesh!"

"Sorry…"

"What did I say about apologizing?!"

"Gahhh, I'm sor– I mean uh…"

Kaito sighed once more. Without hesitation he placed his hand on her head. "I'm sorry for snapping, but seriously, have a bit more confidence in ya okay? How else can you make friends?"

"Ok..."

"Very well then, let's go." Bishop said

* * *

The one thing about the night is that you could never see what was in front or behind you without some source of light. Sight was completely obscured and the only things you could rely on were your nose and ears. The museum building stood out of the black night, storm clouds having obscured any trace of the moon and stars.

"Of course, the one time we make plans for vacation and it storms…" Gammon spoke.

Cubic, while taping away at the tablet, narrowed his eyes. "It looks like I will need to connect with the system before I can deactivate it. I hope you don't mind Bishop."

"Go right ahead Edison."

"Alright, so then, Phase 1, getting inside, how do we do that?" Gammon asked. At that point, Ana walked past the group. The painter earned stares from the confused bunch.

"Ana?"

The boy walked over to the guards. "Excuse me?" He spoke, his hands behind him as he smiled. "Ana is curious, is the museum open?" The girl boy asked, swaying left and right.

"Wha– ANA!" Kaito was about to run after him, until he felt himself being held into place. His head turned to see the perpetrator. It was Hikari, her hands gripping tightly on his shirt, "Hikari?"

The guards were taken aback by Ana's charm. Obviously they fell for the trap.

"Uh, well sorry little lady but the museum's closed for a while."

"Awww…" Ana pouted, "Ana wanted to see the famous composures home. If Ana did, Ana could get inspiration for the next painting…"

"I'm sorry, but–"

*PINCH, PINCH!*

The guards were suddenly knocked out cold, thanks to Kurogasa who snuck from behind a tree and did the Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Kurogasa looked at Ana with a smile. The boy merely had two peace signs up.

"And that takes care that." Kurogasa muttered. Nonoha ran up to Ana while the others followed, all but Kaito and Hikari. The one bearing the title Einstein turned around to Beethoven looking up at him.

"You knew what Ana's plan was?"

"…I knew how it would turn out…"

"You can do the Vulcan Nerve Pinch?" Nonoha asked Kurogasa.

"Yeah," Kurogasa answered.

"I never knew you were a Trekkie."

"So?"

"Geek," Nonoha snickered.

"Hey, Star Trek is an awesome sci–fi series!" Kurogasa defended.

"Star Wars was better." Gammon chirped in.

"I agree with Kurogasa, Star Trek was a rather magnificent series." Cubic added.

"Star Wars for the win!" Kaito declared.

"…Shouldn't we be going inside?" Hikari whispered.

Everyone was a bit surprised before Kaito said sheepishly, "Right, let's go." before they hid the unconscious guards behind the bushes.

"Alright, I'll need to shut off the cameras first before we can do anything else." Cubic said before typing on his holographic keypad.

"Waiting on you then Q–chan," Ana sang.

"Alright then, type this in, putting in the program Jikukawa-sempai gave me aaaaaand… there we go!" Cubic smiled. "Alright we can enter in. I've shut off the alarm system for the main door too."

Bishop nodded and walked towards one of the guards. Padding his body the POG second in command took the key form the guard and unlocked the door. "Ikuzo,"

"Right," They nodded before they went in.

* * *

"Fufufufufufufufu… they came in just like I planned." Mao smirked, watching the Phi Brain children go in the museum from a video feed in a separate room. Mao smiled, tapping at the corner of her tablet, revealing a room in the museum with a bookcase and a table. "Now then… let's see if you can solve the riddle and see if the score piece is here…"

* * *

"Whooooooa, this place is big~" Ana smiled, twirling around.

"Oi Ana, lower down your voice." Kurogasa winced.

Kaito, Hikari and Gammon looked around while Cubic continued to tap at his tablet. "Let's see… we need to head upstairs then make a right into the second door on the right. That should be the study."

"Up the stairs we go~" Ana declared as he ran up the large stairs in front of the group.

"Oi, Ana wait up!" Gammon called out before he followed him with everyone else following, running up the stairs.

Ana was the first to arrive at the doors, ready to open them and start the mission. Kaito and Hikari were the first to arrive up the stairs, followed by Gammon, Nonoha, Kurogasa, Cubic and Bishop who were walking. Then Ana opened the doors.

The study was dark, but it was obviously a rather clean place.

"Whew… check it out…" Kaito whistled.

"It's a little bit dusty in here though." Nonoha commented.

"Alright everyone spread out and find clues." Kurogasa said. "We gotta be quick though. Those guards could come at any moment."

The others nodded and began searching around. Kaito at the bookcase, Gammon at the desk, Ana by the painting, looking around for anything mysterious, even behind it, Bishop waited outside as a guard. Hikari was the only one to not do anything. Rather, she stayed in that spot, as if in a trance.

Kurogasa saw this and turned around.

"Hikari, what's wrong?"

"…No…"

"Eh?"

"I… don't think it is here…"

"What makes you say that?" Kurogasa asked.

"Well… it's possible that the clue could be here but…" How could she word this? She believed that the clue would be somewhere with more… meaning to it? Was that the right word? How could she explain this when she had no clue herself and was going on a gut feeling? She had to put logic in her words, but her brain was drawing a blank.

"What is it Hikari?"

"I…"

"Everyone, the guards are awake!" Bishop's low declaration caused the group to scramble for a hiding place. Kaito hid behind the bookcase, Gammon hid under the desk, and Cubic dove into a large empty clay pot. Ana hid behind one of the curtains, sitting on the window border so that his feet were hidden by the curtain and not bulging out. Bishop decided to take a chance and ran to the next room. As for Hikari, poor girl was left stuttering.

"Oh for goodness sake," Kaito hissed. "Hikari come here!" The blonde haired girl obeyed the order and ran towards Kaito, where he let her get in first and squeezed in next to her.

Nonoha already went to hide and Kurogasa was the last one standing. Panicking frantically and looking left and right, he quickly went into the closet, but…

"Kurogasa, what are you doing in here?!"

Nonoha hid in the closet.

"This was the best place I could hide in!" Kurogasa said, trying not to think of the situation. Why? That's because the closet they're in is a little small and they were a little cramped up at the moment.

"Well, get out!" Nonoha hissed.

"I can't! The guards are here!" Kurogasa's whisper was met with the sudden appearance of lights beaming through the doorway.

"Tch, I can't believe we fell asleep. And where did that girl go!?" One of the guards hissed as they entered the room. The flashlights scanned the room, trying to find anything that seemed to be out of place

"I have no clue." The second guard said.

_'Crap… this is getting a little too tight in here…'_ Kurogasa groaned mentally.

_'Oh man… If they look in here we're doom…'_ Nonoha trembled.

Kurogasa tried to stay still, but he couldn't with the closet being a bit cramped. At that point, they shifted a bit, but not enough for the guards to notice and Nonoha's body pressed onto Kurogasa's making the latter blush. Nonoha gritted her teeth, _'This was beyond stupid! Why couldn't he have gone somewhere else in the room?'_

"Meh, everything looks clear in here…" One of the guards spoke.

"Yeah, same here," The second guard said.

At that point, Kurogasa and Nonoha shifted again because of the tightness, and that caused Nonoha's shirt to unbutton the collar and one more below it, making Kurogasa really blush red. Nonoha saw the blush, her eyebrow rising a bit. Then she happened to look down. The color of her face was occupied by a dark shade of red. "W–Where do you think you're looking?!" Nonoha hissed.

"I–I'm sorry!" Kurogasa whispered frantically, looking away.

Both the guards left the room, closing the door behind them. The shuffling continued, forcing both Nonoha and Kurogasa out of the closet. Both landed on the ground roughly, causing both to groan at the impact.

Ana was the first to leave his hiding place.

"Kuro–Kuro, Nonoha, Are you okay?"

"Ow…" Kurogasa groaned.

"What he said…" Nonoha whined. Gammon and Cubic were the next to appear, though not before Gammon hit his head on the desk.

"Ow, that really–" Gammon said before noticing the predicament. Nonoha's shirt unbuttoned… Kurogasa, next to her… HE DIDN'T!

"KUROGASA!" Gammon ran straight to Kurogasa as he stood up. He was so close to throwing the punch, until Nonoha stood up her head clashing with Gammon's chin.

"Gammon, what is up with you?!" Nonoha asked.

"WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU NONOHA?!" Gammon demanded.

"Keep it down you morons!" Kaito exclaimed as he and Hikari slowly got out from behind the bookcase.

"I–It's not what you think." Kurogasa blushed.

"Oh it's most _certainly_ what I think! You tried to take advantage of Nonoha!"

"Whoa, wait what!?" Kaito's voice rose.

Gammon glared at Kaito as he spoke. "Nonoha's shirt is undone, how do you explain anything other than him trying to get into her shirt!?"

"Kurogasa…?" Cubic asked stunned.

"Kuro–Kuro no ecchi…" Ana mumbled lowly.

"O–Oi,"

"That's _not_ what happened!" Nonoha snapped.

"Then what did happen!?"

"We were both in a thin closet, and of course there was a lot of movement and the buttons came undone!" Nonoha declared, angry at the fact they were even fighting at all.

"It's true…" Kurogasa mumbled.

Hikari shivered at the fighting going on. Her eyes turned towards the door. Hopefully the guards didn't hear them. Perhaps she should stand guard? The girl walked over to the door, grasping her and around the knob. The knob wouldn't move. Red violet eyed blinked once, then twice, each time she tried to open the door the knob wouldn't budge. It would wiggle, but nothing else.

…Uh–oh…

Should she tell them? Why was she doubting, herself yes she should tell them!

"U…Um…"

Sadly she was not loud enough, her timid voice being drowned out by the sudden yelling of the red head.

"OH REALLY?!" Gammon shouted.

"YEAH, REALLY!" Nonoha snapped.

"Um… guys?" Hikari said timidly.

"WHAT IS IT!?" Nonoha and Gammon's screams echoed through the room. Hikari backed into the door, her body trembling as tears generated at her eyes. What did she do? Did she do something wrong again? She did do something wrong!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Hey, stop yelling at her!" Kaito snapped at Gammon and Nonoha.

Nonoha and Gammon flinched. They were made aware of the girl's trembling and how the tears trailed down her cheeks. She was honestly afraid. "Sorry…" Nonoha and Gammon apologized.

"Mattaku…" Kaito sighed before turning to Hikari with a gentle smile. "Now Kari, what's wrong?"

"T–The door's locked…"

"…Say what?" Kaito still retained the smile on his face, but his words came out as a squeak.

"The door… it's locked."

Everyone looked shocked as they cried out, "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

Hikari squeaked as he ran away form the door and behind Kaito. The reason was Gammon running toward the door, roughly jerking the door knob.

"Dang it, she's right! The door is locked form the outside."

"How are we gonna get out?" Nonoha asked.

"Cubic, please tell me there's an alternate exit." Kurogasa said.

The boy shook his head, "Besides the windows no."

"Crap…" Kurogasa slumped, his shoulders.

*KACHINK!*

Kurogasa blinked. He heard something open, like a door or shutter. The boy looked left, then right, then below. He, Nonoha, and Kaito were standing over nothing. And the next thing that came out of their mouths while the three were falling was, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Kurogasa/Nonoha/Kuro–Kuro/KAITO!" The four remaining students of Root Gakuen cried out as the floor closed beneath them, forced to watch as their friends vanished into darkness.

* * *

The three continued to slide down through the tunnel, Nonoha holding her skirt close.

"Oh man this sucks!"

"You're telling me!" Kurogasa shouted.

"Where is this tunnel leading us?" Kaito yelled. At that instant, an exit could be seen.

"We're about to find out!" Kurogasa declared as all three exited the tunnel, Kurogasa and Kaito landing face front on the ground. Kurogasa groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Wuaaaaaa,"

*BAM!*

Nonoha groaned lightly. She went to caress her behind, only to find something of interest. The girl looked down. She had landed at the base of Kurogasa's spine.

"Ow… that hurt…" Kurogasa groaned.

"Ah! Sorry Kurogasa!" Nonoha exclaimed as she got off of Kurogasa. Kaito, while having stood earlier, knelt down to the brown haired boy's level.

"Need a hand?" Said boy gestured. Kurogasa groaned as he lifted his head. Taking Kaito's hand, the one bearing the title of Einstein helped lift the boy to his feet. Several cracks caused Kurogasa to wince as moans of pain escaped his mouth.

"Itetetetetetete~" Kurogasa cried out.

"Sorry, so sorry!" Nonoha grimaced.

"N–No problem…" Kurogasa popped his back. Breathing a sigh of relief he looked around.

"Guys, take a look around…" Kaito and Nonoha did as asked.

"W–What the…"

"No way… we're outside!?"

"Indeed you are," A new voice said. They took around to see a cloaked woman coming towards them.

"Who are you?!" Kaito demanded.

"My name is Mao. I am one of the members of the Chords of Death." She introduced before taking off her cloak completely.

What was under the cloak was a rather beautiful young lady. She had white hair cut to the ends of her ears, and yet part of her bangs, were parted to the left. Despite the malice in the woman's right green eye her, left was covered by a white eye patch.

"You're another one of the freak squad?" Kaito hissed.

"My, my, now that's not polite." Mao giggled.

"What do you want?!" Nonoha demanded.

"What else? I want to destroy you all." Mao giggled. "But as much as I'd like to stain my hands with your blood, I have other matters to attend to, like testing that blonde haired friend of yours in another Philosopher's Puzzle."

"You gave out another one!?" Nonoha exclaimed. Immediately, dread began to encompass Kaito. He had to get to her!

"That's right!" Mao smirked. "I wonder if she can solve it without you two."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Kurogasa shouted before opening his jacket to reveal the Faiz System Belt. He then took out the Faiz Phone from his pocket and opened it up to dial in the sequence.

**5–5–5**

**STANDING BY**

The phone let out a pulsing sound before raising his hand with the phone in the air and shouted, "Henshin!" and placed the phone in the slot, putting it down sideways.

**COMPLETE**

"Oh?" Mao looked impressed at the materialized armor of Faiz was worn by Kurogasa. "Now that I see it for myself it is rather impressive. I wonder who created this technology…"

"What are you talking about?!" Kurogasa demanded.

"Oh, is your Faiz armor not technology?" Mao tilted her head.

"What about that Philosopher's Puzzle? Where are the others?!" Kaito exclaimed.

"I suggest you worry about yourselves first before worrying about your friends. I'll take _good_ care of them." Mao chuckled. "In the meantime, I'll have the Bear Orphenoch entertain you so you don't get bored."

"A Bear Orphenoch…?" Kurogasa spoke. At that moment, a low growl echoed through the alleyway. The growl sent shivers down Nonoha's spine. Cold sweat began to develop on Kaito's back. A big, dark gray monster loomed over Mao. It was a foot taller than the girl, its body tick with muscle and fur. Shaw like fur knitted in his body, covering his shoulders and neck. Black claws perked out of the monsters toes and fingers, claws sharp enough to easily pierce into a human's body without fail.

"Fufufufufu… keep our guests entertained. I have a Philosopher's Puzzle to host." Mao said to the Bear Orphenoch before finally leaving.

"Hey! Get back here!" Kaito shouted, but it was no use, seeing as she wasn't going to stop walking.

"Kaito, Nonoha, watch out!" Kurogasa shouted. "It's coming towards us!"

Both of the students were baffled at the appearance of the Bear Orphenoch walking in their direction. It drew closer while the two students moved backwards.

"We don't have time for this!" Kaito exclaimed.

"We have to get to the others!" Nonoha shouted. Kurogasa knew they had to reach their friends, but the problem was the massive lubber blocking the way.

"We're gonna have to take care of this Orphenoch first!" Kurogasa said before charging in at the Bear Orphenoch.

* * *

Gammon demanded, "What the heck?! Where did they go?"

"I–I don't know." Cubic was checking his tablet, trying to find the exit of the tunnel, but couldn't come up with anything form the data he downloaded earlier.

_"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_ A voice echoed with laughter. _"Welcome to my trap!"_

"W–What the–" Hikari stuttered.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Gammon demanded.

_"I'm afraid I can't. Though if you wish to see me then follow the pathway I illuminated for you…"_ At the voice of the woman, the door slowly opened. Outside, none of the lights were lit, everything was dark.

Lanterns that lined the walls lit one by one, shining the path the group was meant to take.

"Ana thinks that creepy…" Ana muttered quietly.

_"If you want to see your friends again, I suggest you follow the lighted path. I'll be waiting."_ The voice said.

No one moved an inch, the back of their heads telling them not to. If they did follow the lights, they knew they would be lead to a trap. But then, how else were they to escape and reunite with the missing three? Hikari gulped. She didn't want to go, but she wanted to see Kaito, Nonoha and Kurogasa. Taking the first step, the girl readied herself to walk.

"O–Oi, what are you doing?" Gammon asked surprised.

"If… If it's the Chords of Death… they're after me…" The girl stuttered, body trembling. "I… I will go save Kaito, Nonoha–san and Kurogasa–san… Please… escape…"

"OH no, not alone you won't!" Gammon said, stepping forward. "I'm going too!"

Hikari squeaked, "W–What?!"

"We can't leave you alone to face them." Cubic declared.

"Ana agrees with them!"

Hikari shook her head. "But… they're after me… My life is not as important as all of you."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Gammon said.

"Huh?" Hikari was baffled. Which part was the lie?

"Your life is not important as all of ours? Get real!" Gammon said. "You're one of us! Kaito already lost someone important and I know for a fact that Kaito goes berserk when someone important to him is gone!"

The words Gammon spoke lit a small fire in the girl's heart. She was important? She was important to Kaito? That couldn't be right.

"…But why… Why am I important?"

"You just are." Cubic spoke. "We may have just met but that doesn't mean we can't get to know one another even more to be great friends."

"The sun taught us to expand our horizons, to believe in one another, to open up." Ana continued, "That is what we are going to teach you, Kari…"

"M–Minna…" Hikari murmured.

"So, if you are done needlessly moping, which is beyond annoying, let's go!" Gammon grabbed the girl's arm, lifting her up as he dragged her along.

"O–Oi, matte o," Hikari cried out.

"Let's go Ana!" Cubic said following them.

"Ana's right behind you!" He added following too.

"M–Matte, I–I don't think this is a good idea!"

"Oh _now_ you're saying we shouldn't?" Gammon rolled his eyes. Picking up the girl he placed her over his right shoulder. A bright blush tinted her face red as her arms flailed about.

"Wait wait wait I can walk please let me down please let me down!"

Needless to say, her words went unheard.

The three continued following the lighted path and when they got there, they arrived at a door. "This is it." Cubic said. Hikari gulped as she felt Gammon move. Placing his right hand on the door, the male pushed it open. The four of them went in and as soon as that happened, the door behind closed by itself. "Hey, what the–" Cubic got out.

"What… is this place?" Gammon's eyes widened.

"What? What is it?" In truth Hikari didn't want to look in fear of it being a puzzle.

_"Welcome everyone!"_ The voice said. _"Welcome to another Philosopher's Puzzle!"_

With that, the entire room lit up, causing the Phi Brain children to shield their eyes briefly before the light dimmed to reveal where they were in.

In the middle of the room was a 20 foot metal tower on top of that tower was a crystal framed hexagon. At the bottom of the tower was a computer screen with a keyboard. Surrounding the large tower were six smaller ones that were half the size of the large one and each small tower also had a crystal rod and the bottom of each tower had a computer screen too. The last thing was that the floor was littered with cable and power lines.

"That's a big tower…" Gammon blinked a few times, both impressed and disturbed at the size of the tower.

"That just might be the Puzzle we need to solve…" Cubic declared.

"Ana thinks we should hurry."

"T–That voice said it was another Philosopher's Puzzle… r–right?" Hikari asked.

_"Indeed you are correct."_ The voice said.

"Where are ya!?" Gammon declared looking left and right quickly, accidentally swinging Hikari around in the process. Sadly he didn't seem to care where he was looking as his next turn swung Hikari's head into a wall.

Ana and Cubic cringed. "That's… gotta hurt…"

"Waaaaaa…" Hikari cried softly as tears generated out of her eyes and a lump quickly formed on her head.

_"Hmm… I was expecting the Phi Brain children, not the four stooges."_

"Who are you calling a stooge?!" Gammon shouted. Mao walked out of the shadows and into the light that illuminated over the tower.

"Who else, failed vessel?"

"Nandato~?!" Gammon snarled.

"A–Ano… please let me down…" Hikari stuttered.

"Yes, please let the girl down so she can begin the puzzle," Mao tilted her head, smiling sweetly, though the smile was enough to send chills down their backs. Gammon placed the girl down, the blonde placing a hand on her head to rub the spot she was hit.

"Wait, only Hikari?" Cubic asked confused.

Gammon asked, "Why only her?!"

"I don't have to answer. Come Beethoven." Mao's eyes were dark almost pitch black as she held out her hand in a gesture. Hikari shivered.

"We're helping her!" Gammon declared, shaking his fist.

"Yes Ana will not let a new friend fight for her life by herself!"

The Giver of the puzzle rolled her eyes. "Very well, if you all want to die together then assist Beethoven. But only she is allowed to complete the puzzle, you are merely assistances to help her move the tower."

"Fine by us!" Cubic said.

"Good. Then allow me to explain the rules." Mao said. "The rules of this game are as follows. There are a total of six crystals inside each of the small towers. The point is to take the crystals and place them in an order that creates a piece of music. However, you need to solve a few riddles to be able to obtain the crystals. Once you do, a laser will shoot out and connect to the tower I stand on. You need to answer the riddles in a corresponding order. If you fail then the puzzle with shatter, becoming shards that will pierce your bodies,"

Mao's words caused the Root Gakuen students to shiver at the thought not being shredded.

"And for this puzzle, you have 30 minutes to solve it."

"Only thirty minutes huh?" Gammon sarcastically replied.

"Plenty of time," Cubic gave a victorious smirk.

"Oh I wouldn't say that. I hear each of these riddles take at least 5 minutes to solve."

"Watch us beat that!" Gammon rushed towards the tower, the others behind him. Mao could only chuckle. Could they solve her puzzle?

She highly doubted they could, not with a musical genius.

* * *

"Gahhhh!" Kurogasa shouted as he was sent flying after being hit by the Bear Orphenoch.

"Okay why did you try and kick the massive bear that's ten times your weight?" Nonoha exclaimed.

"I had to try _something_!"

"Take this!" Kaito shouted, as he found a big metal pipe he can swing at the Orphenoch with and swung hard. Sadly, the pipe slit in two once it came into contact with the monster. The bear merely gave Kaito a side glance, those empty eyes doing wonders in making Kaito shiver, scared for his life. "You know with all these life and death situations I've been in with Sage, Fool's, and Judgment Puzzles… you would think I would grow apathetic to all of it…"

At that point, the Bear Orphenoch swung its huge bear like hands at Kaito sending him flying and his back hit a tree hard.

"Kaito," Nonoha exclaimed.

"Kisama," Kurogasa shouted.

**1–0–6**

**BURST MODE**

Kurogasa changed the Faiz Phone to gun mode and fired four huge laser shots at the Bear Orphenoch. The latter roared as all four shots hit the target, sending sparks flying. The Bear Orphenoch groaned a bit, walking backwards, but not making much distance. If anything, the bear was more of a tank, hard to hit but slow at the movement and packed a punch.

"That thing's a tank!" Kurogasa gritted.

"Where's that bike robot of yours when we need it?!" Nonoha exclaimed.

Kurogasa paused. Wait, wasn't there a way to summon that bike? "Now I feel stupid…" The boy unlatched the phone form the belt and typed in a command.

**5–8–2–1**

**AUTO VAJIN: COME CLOSER**

Placing the phone back into the belt, Kurogasa narrowly dodged a swipe form the large bear monster. Nonoha ran to Kaito, lifting the boy up as he groaned, "Kaito!"

"Don't scream… headache…" The black haired male groaned.

At that point, they heard the vrooming sound of a motorcycle, "About time!" Kurogasa said as he heard the Auto Vajin come vrooming until they saw the Auto Vajin jump the wall towards them.

"UWHOOOOOOOOOA," Kaito and Nonoha said surprised looking up.

The Auto Vajin landed beside Kurogasa. "Good timing." Kurogasa before holding the right handle and… pulling it out to reveal a rod–like sword? Kaito and Nonoha were confused, but Kurogasa knew what it was. Inside the handle was a lightsaber–like weapon called the Faiz Edge; Taking the Mission Memory out of the Faiz Phone, he inserted it on the side of the Faiz Edge.

**READY**

When that happened, the Faiz Edge glowed red.

"Alright, Kuma–yaro, kurae," Kurogasa yelled charging at the Bear Orphenoch and started swinging the Faiz Edge at the Bear Orphenoch.

* * *

The Phi Brain children gathered around the first crystal, the one closest to them. "Alright, so we know we need to activate these, in order… but how does that order go?" Gammon asked.

"I don't know…" Hikari shook her head.

"I suggest you don't dillydally and just do the puzzle~." Mao cooed sadistically.

"Yeah, yeah," Gammon spoke as he waved his right hand in an attempt to shoo her off. Naturally, Ana being Ana, he copied Gammon's movements while Cubic began scanning the crystal.

"There doesn't seem to be anything different about this crystal. It's made of the same structure as most of them, and yet… for it to produce music… perhaps it's been genetically altered."

"How can you genetically alter a rock?" Gammon narrowed his eyes.

"The same way you can change a phone to a laptop." Cubic answered without missing a beat.

Ana giggled before gazing at the crystal, "It looks very pretty," He said admiringly.

"M–Minna, shouldn't we start solving this puzzle?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah, we're getting to it." Gammon said before looking at the computer screen. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Hmmm…" Cubic took a glance at the touch screen laid before the crystal. It was similar to a tablet, touchscreen displaying a, as Cubic thought, jumbled words. "Perhaps this is the key to solving the puzzle."

"Hmm…? You mean the sentence? Yeah. It is the puzzle! In fact I already figured it out!"

"Ana has as well."

"As have I," Cubic admitted with sarcasm in his voice. Of course they could put the phrase back together, it was simple. However, it was too simple.

"W–What does it say?" Hikari asked.

"When the words are placed together in English, it reads as followed." Cubic cleared his throat. "Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice, and lightning. Lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash."

Hikari blinked. Such and odd saying, and yet there was something nostalgic about it.

"What the heck does that mean?" Gammon asked.

"I'm not sure." Cubic shook his head. At that point, the crystal from the tower glowed and it shot a laser towards the big crystal playing a note.

Hikari's red violet eyes widened. "A flute… C major…?" She whispered as her eyes scanned the other crystals. There was a fork in the road now. Without any clue on which path to take, the girl bit her lip.

"Huh? What did you say Hikari?" Cubic asked.

"Oh… uh… I think the flute is in C major…" Hikari mumbled.

"That doesn't tell us much…" Gammon spoke.

"But it does give us a hit as to what the song might be right?" Cubic asked.

"Um… well… no…"

"Whaddya mean no?!" Gammon asked incredulously.

Hikari flinched, her eyes focusing on other things instead of the people in front of her. "Well there are a good portion of songs that begin with a flute in C." Hikari mumbled quietly, her head slowly lowering. A part of her wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to do so.

"Mattaku…" Gammon sighed. "Fine, fine, looks like we're gonna have to figure out the rest of the song by finishing the other riddles."

"But we have to get it in the correct order." Ana spoke.

"And if we get the order wrong, then…" Cubic gulped at the implications of what might happen.

"Oh great, then how do we find out which crystal is next?" Gammon asked.

"Mmmmmmmmm…" Hikari said thinking about it.

"What is it Kari–Kari?" Ana asked curiously.

"Well… this may be wrong… or maybe it is…" Hikari shifted her eyes.

"20 minutes left." Mao reminded.

"Come on Hikari you gotta say what you're thinking! Stuttering like this is only wasting everyone's time!"

Gammon's words struck a chord in the blonde haired girl. Her mouth went dry. She tried to open it but she couldn't. His words, they were just like that moment… Her body began shaking uncontrollably.

"I… I… I think… it's the one on the right…"

"Alright, I'm going there!" Gammon said going over to the next tower. When he got there, the computer screen on the tower lit up, "Hey, this is a rebus puzzle!" He noticed.

"A rebus puzzle?" Hikari asked. Obviously she had no clue what he was referring to.

"It's a sort of puzzle where some words in a sentence are replaced with pictures and you have to figure out the pictures while adding or subtracting parts of words too." Cubic said.

"Then… does this mean each crystal has a different puzzle?" Hikari asked.

"I guess so." Cubic shrugged.

"Then we have to finish this puzzle fast." Gammon said.

"The problem is how to solve this next one!?" Cubic declared as he ran towards the next crystal with the others.

"W–Wait, hold on!" Hikari cried out.

"Ana will go to this one!" Ana said gaining to another.

Oh, this wasn't going to end well.

* * *

"GAH!" Kurogasa cried out after tumbling to the ground from getting slashed by the Bear Orphenoch.

A mighty roar encased the area, Nonoha and Kaito having to cover their ears.

"Dang it this sucks! We can't do anything!" Kaito hissed.

Nonoha yelled over the roar, "What!?"

"Think about it!" Kaito yelled as the roar continued to force them to cover their ears. "HIKARI AND THE OTHERS ARE TRAPPED INSIDE, AND KUROGASA IS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE AND WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO HELP!"

"Grrrr…" Kurogasa growled. "Kono~ alright then, see how you like this!" He opened up the phone and pressed the Enter button before closing it back up.

**EXCEED CHARGE!**

The red light glowed from the phone and it traveled through Kurogasa's right arm to the Faiz Edge 'downloading' the information and the Faiz Edge glowed, red, much like a lightsaber before charging at the Bear Orphenoch.

The Bear Orphenoch growled as Kurogasa drew closer to the monster. With a roar the boy slammed the lightsaber down onto the Bear's arm. The sword had no effect on the hard skin of the bear, "Nani!?"

The Bear Orphenoch slashed hard at Kurogasa making sparks fly off of him, while he himself flew back a few feet before falling to the ground. The belt crackled with red electricity before he went to civilian form, "Kurogasa!" Kaito and Nonoha both ran towards the boy. Nonoha cradled the boy in her arms as Kaito hissed. Nails dug into his hands, clenched fists shaking in rage. Biting his lip Kaito looked around. His eyes fell onto a metal pole. Running towards it he grasped the item and lifted it with both hands.

Nonoha exclaimed in surprise as what he was doing, "Kaito?!" as he stood between the Orphenoch and Kurogasa.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kaito yelled before running towards the Bear Orphenoch and swung hard with the metal pole.

*CLANG!*

The metal pole snapped in half against the Bear Orphenoch's body.

Kaito's eyes widened in disbelief, the Bear Orphenoch's body was too strong. The monster raised its left arm, ready to bring it down on Kaito. The boy ran as fast as he could, avoiding the claws that could shred through a building. Thankfully, Kaito dodge rolled at the last second before the Bear Orphenoch swung down.

"Grrrrr… it's too strong!" Kaito gritted. "What can we do?!"

"We need… the other Systems…!" Kurogasa got out.

"What do you mean other systems?" Kaito muttered. Then it hit him. "Wait, you mean we can get more henshin devices?! Do you know where?"

"Unfortunately… no…"

"Well that's not good." Kaito gritted as the Bear Orphenoch, slowly walked towards the trio.

Nonoha looked around, until she noticed something at the corner of her eye. Looking to that direction, just barely visible behind the tree were… two briefcases? "Hey what's that?" Nonoha asked pointing it at them.

"Huh?" Kaito asked, looking at where Nonoha pointed at. "What is it?"

"There're two briefcases there!"

"What's it… doing there?" Kurogasa asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going for them!" Kaito shouted before making a dart for them.

"Kaito!" Nonoha shouted.

Kaito paid no heed to Nonoha or Kurogasa, instead focusing on the case he held in his hands. His fingers fumbled as they struggled to open the box. "Come on, come on!" Gritting his teeth, the boy finally opened it. His eyes widened as he saw what he wanted to see most.

Grabbing one of the items he pulled it out. Like Kurogasa's, it was a mobile phone. It was a black and grey phone with yellow lines having the Chi symbol on it. This item was the Kaixa Phone. He then scanned the other items latched in the black Styrofoam. Like Kurogasa's it was a belt, one that when partnered with the phone, would unless the belts true power. There was a slot for the phone to fit in at the buckle. Also in the suitcase, was a digital camera like knuckle duster weapon, like Kurogasa's and it was known as the Kaixa Shot and another item was a binocular like laser pointer called the Kaixa Pointer.

And there was one more additional item. It was a multipurpose weapon, serving as a pistol, a dagger and a lightsaber. By default, it is in the shape of the Greek letter Chi, or an upside down 4. This was known as the Kaixa BlayGun.

"…Okay…" Kaito steeled his determination. This was it, no turning back. Taking out the belt he placed it around his waist. Turning to the second briefcase he opened it. His eyes widened at the sight of a paper on the case.

'Place this serum in your body.'

Kaito looked confused, "Serum?"

Looking inside were many small bottles of a mysterious liquid substance in it. "What the heck is this stuff?" Kaito asked, taking one of the bottles, examining it. The Bear Orphenoch roared as it marched towards Kaito. Brown eyes narrowed. He had to remain firm.

Taking one of the serums, he uncapped the bottle.

"I really hope this works…"

He downed the contents and he had to admit that it tasted like well… crap. But there wasn't any time to think about that. Kaito then placed the necessary items on the belt and placed the belt around his waist. He then tried flipping the phone, but couldn't. "Aw come on! Work with me here!" Kaito shouted. The Bear Orphenoch drew closer to the black haired boy.

**1–0–3 **

**SINGLE MODE**

The Bear Orphenoch was bombarded by a barrage of laser bullets at its head. Kurogasa was back on his feet.

**5–5–5**

**STANDING BY**

Kurogasa raised his phone in the air and shouted, "Henshin!" and dropped the phone down, slamming it sideways.

**COMPLETE **

Red lines formed over his body and glowed red before becoming Faiz once more.

"C'mon, you stupid phone, work already," Kaito shouted before he hit the side of the phone with his fist and it… slid open to the side? "Are you serious!?" Kaito exclaimed at the phone.

"Hey Kaito, Kurogasa needs back up!" Nonoha exclaimed.

Kaito snapped out of it, "R–Right!" He said before looking back at the phone and saw the cheat sheet on the screen to look up the dialing sequence. "This better work," He then dialed in the sequence.

**9–1–3**

He then pressed the Enter button.

**STANDING BY**

The phone made a low warped pulsing sound as Kaito flipped it back to its original place to close and held the phone close and parallel to his face shouting, "Henshin!" and placed the phone in the slot, slamming it sideways.

**COMPLETE**

Yellow formed all over Kaito and he glowed, bright yellow causing Kurogasa, Nonoha, and the Bear Orphenoch to cover their eyes before the light dimmed. When it did, Kurogasa's and Nonoha's eyes widened at seeing Kaito wearing armor!

He was now in a black bodysuit with yellow lines running along the arms and legs. The torso armor is grey with and rounded with more yellow lines running through it crossing each other in an X to connect to the black belt which has a rectangular center with a chi symbol on the front. His hands have metal tips with bands on the wrists and near the elbow. The helmet is black with purple lenses and a pair of antennae which split the lenses to make it look like a chi symbol on the face and he has a silver mouth piece. On the sides of the belt are what initially looks like a binocular on the left side and a camera on the right. His left leg from the knee down has a metal brace on it.

Kaito became Kamen Rider Kaixa!

* * *

**BGM: People with No Name**

Nonoha exclaimed in shock, "K–K–Kaito?!"

Kaito, who was also in shock, "No way, this is…!" Kaito exclaimed looking all over himself.

"Kamen Rider Kaixa…" Kurogasa said.

Kaito turned around to Kurogasa, "Who?"

"That's what you are man! You're using the Kaixa System, meaning you became Kamen Rider Kaixa!"

"So… basically this means I can fight…" The boy could feel his cheeks widened with each and every second. A smile formed underneath the male's helmet. This was it! This is what he wished for. He could protect the others and not remain on the sidelines!

"Yosh, Kurogasa! Tell me what I need to do!"

"Simple: Beat the crap out of this Orphenoch!" Kurogasa said before the Mission Memory in Faiz Edge.

**READY**

"You got it!" Kaito said before he and Kurogasa charged in at the Bear Orphenoch. Kaito was the first to throw a punch, but was blindsided by the bear, being knocked into a building. The boy easily got up, not feeling pain in the slightest.

"That's not gonna stop us!" Kurogasa shouted.

"You got _that_ right!" Kaito said before taking out the Mission Memory from his phone and slotted it in the Kaixa BlayGun.

**READY**

The BlayGun ejected out a yellow lightsaber from the bottom and he aimed it at the Bear Orphenoch, shooting energy bullets at it. The Bear Orphenoch raised its arms once more, blocking its head as the plasma shots burned its skin. Kaito's eyes widened up under the helmet. Was the bear doing that for a reason?

"Hey Kurogasa, did you notice how that thing's been protecting its head the entire time?"

"Yeah, that must be a weak point!" Kurogasa noticed. "We hit the head…"

"…and we take him out for good!" Kaito finished.

"Alright, I'll distract him. Just get ready to do a Rider Kick!" Kurogasa said before dashing towards the Bear Orphenoch.

"Wait how do, I do that!?" Kaito cried out as Kurogasa jumped onto the bear's back. The monster began shifting left and right, moving around to try and get the rider off of it.

"Think back to when I first became Faiz!"

"Hah?" Kaito shouted. However, he knew that would only take him so long and thus began to recall the events of when Kurogasa became Faiz. If he recalled, the young man did something to make his leg glow. He remembered taking out the Mission Memory from his phone and placing it on the Faiz Pointer and… _'Wait a minute…'_ Kaito thought in his mind. That's when he remembered.

* * *

**Flashback**

_Kurogasa took out the Faiz Pointer off one side of this belt then slid out the small metallic card known as the Mission Memory out of the Faiz Phone before sliding it into a slot on the Faiz Pointer._

**READY**

_"And now it's time to finish you off!"_

_With that, he attached the Faiz Pointer to the right side of his leg, attaching it horizontal first before turning it so that it was parallel and facing downwards. Then he opened up his phone and pressed the 'ENTER' button before closing it._

**EXCEED CHARGE**

_The phone glowed briefly before a red light traveled from the phone down Kurogasa's right leg, activating the Faiz Pointer. As the Thorn Orphenoch staggered up, Kurogasa sprinted forward towards the former and leaping up in the air, he flipped forward and slanted his body straight before a laser shot out of the pointer turning into a huge red holographic cone and it slammed into the Thorn Orphenoch's chest, stunning it._

_Kurogasa then bent his left leg and dashed downward towards the cone to perform his Rider Kick known as Crimson Smash. He shouted with a loud war cry, "SORYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" before hitting the cone and its target before disappearing momentarily._

_Moments later, Kurogasa appeared behind the Thorn Orphenoch in a red blur and landed on his feet in a crouching position. The Thorn Orphenoch shrieked in pain before–_

_*BOOOOOOOOOOOM!*_

_It exploded into blue flames as a red thin light resembling the Phi symbol appeared on the Thorn Orphenoch before it slowly broke down and disintegrated into gray dust._

**End Flashback **

* * *

Kaito patted his body, trying to find something that held that chip he saw Kurogasa used, "Dang it where is it?!"

"Hurry it up!" Kurogasa cried out. He was losing his grip on the monster. Any second and he would be thrown off.

"I FOUND IT!" Kaito pulled out the memory chip from his phone and taking out the Kaixa Pointer, which looked binocular like, he inserted the Mission Memory in it.

**READY**

Part of the binoculars broke off, but part of it was still hinged and Kaito flipped it over to the other side to snap it in place. Kaito then attached the Kaixa Pointer to the right side of his leg, attaching it horizontal first before turning it so that it was parallel and facing downwards. Then he opened up his phone, pushing it down slightly, and pressed the 'ENTER' button before closing it.

**EXCEED CHARGE**

The phone glowed briefly before a yellow light traveled from the phone down Kaito's right leg, activating the Kaixa Pointer.

"Kurogasa," Kaito called out to the new Faiz. At that moment, Kurogasa was thrown off and onto the ground in front of the Bear Orphenoch. Kaito gritted his teeth under the helmet, he had only one shot.

Kaito sprinted forward towards the Bear Orphenoch, leaping up in the air and flipping forward and slanted his body straight before a laser shot out of the binoculars turning into a huge yellow holographic cone and it slammed into the Orphenoch's head, stunning it.

Kaito then bent his left leg and dashed downward towards the cone to perform the Rider Kick known as Gold Smash. He shouted with a loud war cry, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" before hitting the cone and its target before disappearing momentarily.

Moments later, Kaito appeared behind the Bear Orphenoch in a yellow blur and landed on his feet. The large monster fell backwards. Once its body hit the ground, the monster burst into flames of ephemeral blue as a thin yellow light resembling the Chi symbol appeared. The body burned in the fire, becoming ash and dust.

**End BGM**

* * *

Nonoha was in shock. She just witnessed her oldest friend, her childhood friend, fight a monster alongside Kurogasa. And he beat it! She asked, "Okay…Where can I get a belt?!"

"Eh?" Kurogasa and Kaito blinked.

"I want to fight also! I want a henshin thing and I want to fight too!" Nonoha declared.

"Uh… Nonoha it was by a stroke of luck that Kaixa's was– wait…" Kurogasa went to civilian form as his face paled by the second. "Why was it here?"

"I don't know." Kaito shrugged. "But who cares? Now I can fight and not be on the sidelines!"

"Hmmmmm…" Kurogasa pondered.

"Kaito, Nonoha, Kurogasa!" A voice shouted. They turned to see Bishop coming towards them.

"Bishop, are you okay?" Kurogasa asked. Bishop nodded as he arrived at the small group. "What about the others? Where are they?"

"They're doing a Philosopher's Puzzle right now, I found a way to that puzzle, I'll take you– Kaito, what are you wearing?" Bishop asked, seeing Kaito still in his armor.

"Oh, this is the Kaixa System! I became a Kamen Rider like Kurogasa!" Kaito said.

"There was another system like the Faiz system?" Bishop asked a bit surprised.

"Yeah, we'll explain later, right now, we have to get to Hikari right now." Kurogasa said. "Can you take us there?"

"Yes I can. Follow me." Bishop said before the group went with the Auto Vajin following.

"Oi, Kaito, why are you still wearing the armor?" Nonoha asked, as they ran.

"I wanna see the look on Gammon's face, when he sees I'm wearing it." Kaito grinned smugly.

"Why am I not surprised?" Nonoha deadpanned with a sweat drop.

* * *

"Alright, last crystal is ours!" Gammon declared with heated determination.

"And we still got five minutes left!" Cubic declared. Ana smiled while Hikari sighed in relief.

Her eyes gazed upon the three title bearers. While she was good at puzzles, the rate they were going far surpassed Hikari. Her heart grew heavier the more she watched them and their amazing skills. "Alright, now we just gotta go to the main tower!" Cubic said before the four of them ran to the main tower to look at the computer screen there. Once they reached the main tower, six slots were displayed in front of them.

"Okay, six crystals and six slots. Now we have to figure out how to– AAAAAAH!"

"What's wrong?!" Cubic asked. His eyes fell onto the blank tablet screen.

Blank?!

"There's no clue for this one!"

Hikari gasped, "WHAT?!"

"How the heck are we supposed to figure it out?!" Gammon freaked out. "Without a clue, we're screwed!"

"There is a clue…" Mao whispered. "But it might be difficult even for you…"

"Nandato~" Gammon growled.

"We only got four minutes left!" Cubic declared.

"Agh, dang it, okay let's take a look around here!"

As that happened, Hikari was thinking of the notes that played. The notes played were two E's, a D, G, F#, and a low B. The girl bit her bottom lip. She had to find a way to answer through those notes! Cubic and Ana looked across the tower and the floor, as Gammon was running back downstairs, hoping to find a clue within the previous riddles.

Gammon ran towards the nearest one and checked out the tablet.

The screen was black!

"Oh come on!"

"Three minutes!"

"I got it Cubic! Shut up!" Gammon angrily shouted. He did not need to be reminded of the amount of time they had as the minute passed.

"Wait a minute…" Hikari mumbled. She closed her eyes as she was thinking of the notes. First of all, why would be two E's to begin with? In her head, she sounded out the notes, rearranging every now and then, to get a tune out, but none sounded good. When she played the notes again in her mind, her eyes were wide open and blushed in embarrassment for some reason. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

Ana, hearing Hikari's whisper, turned around to the girl. "Why is Kari–Kari blushing?"

"Well… I think I solved it…" The blush increased in intensity.

"If you did then you got one minute to place the crystals in!" Gammon declared as he ran back to the group.

"O–Okay," Hikari ran towards Cubic and Ana who held the crystals. "Place then in this order! The first E we got into the first slot!" Hikari squeaked as Ana nodded and did as told, "Cubic, place in G and F# next!"

"I got it!" Cubic jammed the crystals into the slots.

"Ana! D! Cubic, place the second E! And then put in the B!" Hikari ordered as the two rushed to place the crystals in. Once the final crystal was set into the slots, the music tower began to play. The sound was something of a flute, a soothing six note melody. Hikari blushed even more as she recalled the melody. _'Of all the melodies… to think Mao would use a children's TV Show tune… Lugia's Song is beautiful but…'_

"Kariiiiiiiiiiiii!" Kaito's voice rang out.

Hikari turned around, "Kaito?!" Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of Kurogasa, Nonoha, Bishop and another person with them. What was odd though was that this person wore armor similar to the Faiz armor. Naturally Cubic was surprised and instantly ran up to the armored boy.

"Kaito, is that you!?"

Gammon asked in pure shock and disbelief, pointing at Kaito while his eye twitched and his mouth hung, "NANDATOOOOOOO?!"

"Ahahaha, oh this was so worth it!" Kaito barely made it to the stairs as he began to fall onto the floor in laughter, holding his sides.

"Kaito… is wearing armor?" Hikari questioned.

"Kaito is wearing armor similar to the Faiz?"

Above the group, Mao was in shock. Not because her puzzle was solved. But because of the second group who ran inside. One of them wore armor like Faiz!

They have the second one…

Mao snarled, "Kisama, Kaixa!"

Kaito, in the Kaixa armor, looked up towards Mao. Even though she couldn't see it, she could feel the glare. The new rider walked towards the tower. "You really think that Bear Orphenoch could beat me and Kurogasa? Well think again! We're alive and well!"

"Just… how… where did you get it… That system should have been destroyed!" Mao's grip on her tablet increased with every word.

"Does it matter where I got it?" Kaito asked smugly. "All I know is that Kurogasa and I are gonna kick your butts now that we have these belts with us!"

"Tough talk for a new rider," Mao declared. "You don't even know how to use that system!"

"Your right, I don't. But it's just like the Faiz armor. A puzzle… and…" The armor de–materialized, "And I will tell you what I tell everyone else… THERE IS NO PUZZLE I CAN'T SOLVE!"

Mao growled and snarled. She is not going to be able to live this down. "Grrrr… this isn't over!" She then took out a smoke pellet and threw it at her feet.

*POOF!*

Smoke surrounded her and when it cleared… she was gone.

"Well… we survived this one…"

"Hey guys listen," Nonoha said and everyone listened. It was the sound of an orchestra playing from a speaker somewhere.

However, Kurogasa gawked in disbelief for some reason, "No way …Lugia's Song?!"

A dark blush encased Hikari's cheeks as everyone else was confused, "Lugia?" Kurogasa and Nonoha turned to the curious group.

"Uh… well…" Kurogasa stuttered. How was he going to explain this one? "Let's talk about it after we go through this place and upstairs where the clue should be."

"No we wait 'til the song finishes." Ana said, "It sounds pretty."

"Uh… right…" Hikari muttered. Even so, the blush did not fade. Out of all the melodies Mao used, it had to be this one.

"You know… I have to admit this is freaky…" Nonoha mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Kurogasa asked.

"Well… I wasn't expecting the Chords of Death to use a song from a children's game in a puzzle meant to kill you. The irony is dark this time."

"We can thank the authors for that one…" Kurogasa muttered.

"Huh?" Nonoha asked confused.

"Nothing," Kurogasa said out loud.

"I have to admit it sound pretty nice." Cubic said.

"While the music is enjoyable, it would be best to continue the search through the estate." Bishop declared, causing several whines to erupt from Ana and Cubic.

"Hey we came here to do a job so let's go do it," Gammon bluntly said.

"Yeah, yeah we get it…" Kaito rolled his eyes in exasperation. His gaze turned to Hikari, who was looking back at the tower.

"Hikari, let's go." The blonde haired woman flinched slightly before her eyes fell onto Kaito, a warm smile on his face. The smile was enough to cause her cheeks to tint red.

"O–Okay," Beethoven nodded as the group of Phi-Brain children left the basement.

* * *

The group arrived back the office, Gammon opening the door to the room they were in before the chaos ensued.

"Wait what about the guards?"

"Gone… Turns out they were working for the Chords of Death." Bishop declared.

"Great…"Kaito muttered.

"That means we gotta make this fast." Kurogasa said. "We just gotta find the clue and get out of here."

"But we searched all over earlier," Ana spoke. "Maybe there's a secret compartment?"

Everyone blinked at that, before they facepalmed. Why didn't they think of that earlier?! Talks of a secret compartment had Hikari look back to the bookcase. She blinked three times.

"Makes sense…" Kaito rubbed the back of his head. A soft tug on his sleeve caused him to look at the perpetrator. Hikari had her index and thumb pressing onto a small piece of the sleeves.

"What?"

"Well… behind the bookcase… did you feel something on your back?"

"Huh?" Kaito blinked before remembering something, "Wait, now that you mention it, I _did_ feel something."

Kaito paced towards the bookcase, welding partially in between the back of the case and the wall. His hands began patting the wall, feeling it out to try and find what it is he and Hikari felt. Kaito bit his bottom lip, he wasn't finding it.

His eyes widened. Fingers lightly grazed a part of the wall.

"This… I think I found it. A part of the wall back here feels thinner than the rest. It might be hollow inside!"

"We got the first clue!" Nonoha declared as the others ran. Gammon and Bishop grabbed a part of the bookshelf just as Kaito removed himself from the wall. Walking backwards he watched Kurogasa and Nonoha grab the other side.

"Alright, on three everyone," Kurogasa said, "1… 2… 3!"

With a heave ho the four managed to move the bookshelf. Slowly they began moving it towards the desk. As they did, the wall came into view. Once it was fully out of the way Kaito pressed the wall.

"There has to be something…"

"Perhaps there is a way to…" Ana stopped, as he looked by a painting; his interest was caught.

"Ana?" Nonoha grunted as she watched the painter walk towards the picture.

"This… seems off… that is a failed replica."

"Excuse me?"

Bishop turned around. The painting was "Starry Night."

"Wait, wasn't that painting done by someone who cut off his ear or something?" Gammon asked.

"Yes… but the moon… it's made in the wrong direction… It's going counter clockwise…"

Gammon said, "Annnd?"

"It's in the opposite direction in the true art." Ana matched her declaration by pressing the moon.

*KA–CHINK!*

Everyone's eyes reverted to the wall. The part that Kaito described was hollow was now opened. "Okaaay…" Kaito muttered as he walked over to the now revealed safe.

"Huh… Kurogasa," Brown eyes glanced at blue orbs. "This is right up your alley." Kaito jabbed his thumb at the safe. There were three turns, but unlike numbers, there were letters.

"Okay, let's see here," Kurogasa said as he examined the safe. The safe had three different turners. With twenty six letters each there would be a good number of combinations, reaching into the 2000's. Kurogasa thought back on the place they were at.

Beethoven… estate… If it was his initials… what was his full name...?

"Hikari, what's Beethoven's full name?"

"Oh um… it's… Ludwig… Von Beethoven?"

"L, V, B. Got it!"

He turned the turners to the right letters and when he did…

*KA–CHINK!*

The safe opened!

"Heh… Code cracked," Kurogasa grinned.

"Alright," Cubic smiled.

"Now we can see if the clue is here!" Nonoha declared. Kurogasa opened the safe, the tension high as the inside was revealed. A dark, dank book sat within the safe. Kurogasa gently grazed it. "That's it?" Nonoha asked as Kurogasa blew off the dust and taking it out of the safe.

"It looks like it." Kurogasa said looking at it. The book was old, possibly a good couple of decades. The pages seemed darker, stained even.

"Well, we have what we need. Let's get out of here." Bishop said.

"Yes, let's, I don't wanna stay in this place any longer!" Nonoha declared with a raised hand.

And with that, the group left the building.

* * *

[_"You are sure of this?"_] Kaiser frowned as he was talking to Mao on the screen from her tablet.

"Yes I am sure. The Phi Brain children now have the Faiz and Kaixa system." Mao answered.

[_"Hmmmmm… it's most troublesome indeed."_] Kaiser said.

"Though I am worried… If they have the first two the third must be nearby."

[_"Mao, I want you to find the rest of the systems. If the first two are still functioning the others must be around. Find them."_]

"Yes Lord Kaiser," Mao said before the screen winked out.

* * *

**Fenikkusumaru:** That's another chapter down! Bet you weren't expecting that huh? Kaito became Kamen Rider Kaixa!

**StarlightAT:** Place your bets people because, Yes, Delta and the others will make an appearance! Think you can figure out who will be who?

**Fenikkusumaru:** That's for us to know, and for you to find out!

**StarlightAT:** Look forward to the next chapter!


End file.
